The tycoon bought the Bikur Holim hospital about a year ago.
Arcadi Gaydamak has put the Bikur Holim hospital up for sale, barely a year after buying the central Jerusalem property. Sources inform ''Globes'' that he has been in talks with Dr. Shmuel Levinger and Ronit Levinger, the owners of the Enayim Eye Clinic, who had made a bid for the hospital.
Bikur Holim was one of Gaydamak's more emotional and political acquisitions because the hospital is associated with Jerusalem's haredi (ultra-orthodox) communities and because the hospital's pensioners were harmed by the liquidation of the NPO than operated it. When Gaydamak bought the hospital, many people saw this as part of his run for the city's mayor. However, the utter failure of his candidacy apparently put an end to the romance with the hospital.
The Levinger family confirmed the reports, but said that the talks were at a very early stage. If they buy the hospital, it will reportedly be for far less than the $32 million that Gaydamak paid for it.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 20, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008