JERUSALEM (JTA) — American billionaire Ronald Lauder is pulling his stake from the financially troubled Israeli television station Channel 10 following disagreements with another major shareholder.
Lauder will give the station $10 million to help cover its current debts before pulling out later this month, according to reports.
He will give some of his 30 percent stake to Yosef Maiman, bringing Maiman to 51 percent of Channel 10 shares, the most allowed under regulatory restrictions. The rest will be placed in a trusteeship for Lauder, who has disagreed with Maiman on how to pull the station out of its financial crisis.
Channel 10 is one of two commercial television channels in Israel.
Lauder, who owns 25 channels in Eastern Europe, put about $48.6 million into the station in 2013 alone, according to Haaretz.
