Two top UBS Israel executives are leaving the Swiss bank to set up a new investment fund. UBS Israel founder and investment banking division head Stephen Levey and head of Israel desk and analyst Jonathan Half will set and manage a fund whose sole investor will be Australian-Jewish billionaire Frank Lowy.
Lowy was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Israel after World War II. He fought in the 1948 War of Independence before emigrating to Australia in 1952, where he began working in real estate and shopping centers. He owns the Lowy Family Group (LFG), a private investment company, which controls Westfield Holdings Ltd. (ASX:WSF), a construction and real estate company that manages dozens of shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK. The company has a market cap of $22.4 billion (AU$30.5 billion). Frank Lowy is chairman.
Frank Lowy is one of the wealthiest men in Australia, with a fortune estimated at $2.8 billion. He once tried to gain control of Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT), and later negotiated with the Safra family to acquire their stake in First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN1;FTIN5). In 2001, he joined Kardan NV (TASE: KRNV;AEX:KARD) to try to acquire the controlling interest in IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH). None of these deals were carried out.
Levey and Half were not available for comment.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 16, 2006
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