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“…has a very wide knowledge in telecommunications, and its advice is always practical”
Legal 500

Yossi Abadi is the partner who heads Meitar’s telecommunication and media practice. His practice encompasses mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and legislative matters and litigation, in the field of media, content and telecommunications.
Yossi’s past experience combined an active senior role in shaping government regulation, wide experience in litigation and commercial law and senior positions in the media.

Until May 2011, he was the partner in charge of the communications practice at the law firm Caspi & Co. for over 11 years.
Between 1997 and 1999, Yossi was the Executive Director of the Israel Broadcasting Regulatory Administration, where he initiated sweeping reforms in the Israeli broadcasting market. These reforms included the launch of competition in multi-channel television platforms.

During 1996 and 1997, he served as Counsel to the Israeli Ministry of Communications, where he negotiated a landmark agreement between the Ministry of Communications and the British firm, Cable & Wireless, regarding its holdings in Bezeq, Israel’s privatized telecom monopoly. He also served as a member of the Peled Committee on Reform in the Electronic Media.
From 1994 to 1996, Yossi served as General Counsel of the Government Companies (Privatization) Authority, overseeing over US$500,000,000 in privatization deals completed during his tenure.

Yossi’s association with the media preceded his qualification as a lawyer – he was Deputy Editor and director of the news departments at both the Israel Army Radio and the newspaper Hadashot.

• Advising Searchlight Capital Partners on its NIS 630 million acquisition of a controlling stake in B Communications, parent company of Bezeq, Israel’s biggest telecoms company.
• Advising Saban Group on the transfer of its controlling stake in Partner Communications, Israel’s full-service telecoms operator.
• Advising multinational media conglomerate Viacom on its acquisition of Ananey Tikshoret, one of Israel’s leading TV production companies.
• Advising a forum of the large internet sites (YNET, Walla, Mako, Nana 10, The marker, Globes and others) in the proceedings to apply the Accessibility Regulations on internet sites.
• Advising i24 News in a legislative amendment to enable a TV news channel in foreign language broadcasted from Israel to be broadcasted on the multichannel platforms.
• Representation of Altice in a series of transactions to purchase 100% of Hot Telecommunications, Israel’s cable television company, for a total consideration of NIS 3 billion.
• Setting a significant legal precedent regarding freedom of speech in the Supreme Court of Israel that substantiated the moral obligation of journalists to publish matters of public interest as a bona fide defense in defamation claims.
• Creditors arrangement in the sum of 350,000,000 NIS in Engel Resources and Development Ltd. including investor and bond holders’ agreements and extensive litigation.
• Representing Jasmine TV Group in the sale of control in ‘July-August Communications and Productions Ltd’, the largest film and TV formats developer in Israel, to the giant international content provider ProZieben from Germany.
• Conducting tender procedures and litigation for the Second Authority for Television and Radio in licensing and franchising of regional radio stations.
• Copyright litigation: Representation of the author of a biography on Nobel prize-winning writer, S.Y. Agnon; representation of a former senior employee of Ha’Zera agricultural company in Labor Court against allegations of theft of trade secrets.