Hutchison seeks bids for Partner this week -paper

TEL AVIV, July 6 (Reuters) - Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) of Hong Kong has asked potential buyers to submit offers for its controlling stake in Partner Communications (PTNR.O) by Wednesday, the Maariv newspaper said on Monday.

The stake is worth an estimated $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, Maariv said.

Partner (PTNR.TA), Israel's second-largest mobile phone operator, is 51 percent owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International (2332.HK), which is controlled by Hutchison Whampoa.

Partner, which has a market cap of 10.3 billion shekels ($2.7 billion), was not immediately available to comment.

According to Maariv, potential buyers include the Israeli communications group Eurocom, a shareholder in the YES satellite television operator, as well as the FIMI mezzanine and buyout fund.

($1=3.88 shekels)

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Erica Billingham)