Many Pointer Telocation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:PNTR; TASE:PNTR) shares have changed hands in recent weeks. Controlling shareholder DBSI has increased its holding to 30%, Eurocom Group invested in the company and now owns 9%, and Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL) has sold shares. One shareholder, however, has drawn attention lately - LBI Group Inc., an investment fund of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. - which owns 8% of the Israeli company.
When asked if he was worried by any link between bankrupt Lehman Brothers and LBI Group, Pointer Telocation chairman Yossi Ben-Shalom, said, "None at all. I am friends with the fund's managers, and I called to ask how they were. In any event, decisions at Lehman Brothers are made at much higher levels, and the fund operates autonomously, and is not selling its holdings. There's no fire sale."
Pointer's next target market is the US, where it is actively seeking acquisition opportunities. Ben-Shalom said, "We're not active in this part of the world, and we hope to exploit the crisis to enter the market."
Pointer, a provider of vehicle location and services solutions, closed at $5.59 on Nasdaq yesterday, giving a market cap of $25.8 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 24, 2008
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