Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) has competed its offer to purchase of Discount Mortgage Bank. Discount Bank paid NIS 306 million, at NIS 665 per share, reflecting a capital multiple of 1.04. Discount Mortgage Bank will be delisted and become a fully-owned subsidiary of Discount Bank.
Discount Bank chairman Shlomo Zohar said, “Discount Mortgage Bank will be a growth engine for increasing Discount Bank’s share of the retail market.”
Discount Bank previously owned 65.1% of Discount Mortgage Bank, and the offer to purchase was for the public’s 34.9% holding. Shareholders owning 31.5% of the bank accepted the offer, boosting the bank’s stake to 96.6%. By law, when Discount Bank acquired 95% of Discount Mortgage Bank it can compel the remaining shareholders to sell. Discount Bank will carry out the compelled sale tomorrow.
Discount Bank published the offer to purchase on March 14. The bank improved its offer last week, because of objections by institutional investors, raising its offer from NIS 575 per share to NIS 665.
Discount Mortgage Bank was the last mortgage bank traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), after the other banks made successful offers to purchase their mortgage bank subsidiaries.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 6, 2007
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