Menorah Insurance will acquire three provident funds of Bank Massad for NIS 11.85 million. The funds manage NIS 370 million in assets. The relatively low price amounts to NIS 32 million per NIS 1 billion in managed assets. The acquisition was made through Mivtachim Provident and Advanced Education Fund Ltd. Menorah Finance Ltd., managed by CEO Yehuda Ben Assayag, will manage the funds.
The deal includes provident funds: Eldar, Morag, and Meitar, which have a joint total of 19,215 accounts. Bank Massad charges these funds management fees of 1%. Menorah and Bank Massad also agreed that the bank would operate the funds for five years, and the company would pay the bank distribution fees, according to law.
Bank Massad has one large provident fund Dafna, which manages NIS 2.1 billion in assets. This fund is slated for sale in the coming month.
Menorah Insurance CEO Ari Kalman said, “Provident funds are a perishable product. We have therefore decided that we won’t buy NIS 15-20 billion funds at the going market price. We did want, however, a minimal platform that would enable banks to recommend us to their customers, as part of their best advice, subject to the reform. We currently have NIS 1.6 billion.”
"Globes": Do you plan to buy more assets from the banks?
Kalman: ”There’s nothing concrete with regard to the funds at the moment, but it’s all a question of price.”
Last September, Menorah acquire the provident funds of Mivtachim Pension Fund, which manage NIS 1.1 billion in assets, for NIS 36.66 million.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 27, 2005