Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELTR) rose 2.8% to NIS 4,770 on a heavy NIS 91 million turnover by midday, without any announcement by the company. The movement in the share is apparently due to the sale of shares by parent company Elco Holdings Ltd. (TASE: ELCO) during morning trading.
Elco, controlled by chairman Gershon Salkind, owned 69.9% of Electra before today's sales, and about 63% afterwards. It sold 6.5% of Electra to Poalim IBI Underwriting and Investments Ltd. (TASE:PIU) at an average price of NIS 442 per share, for a total of NIS 95 million. IBI will distribute the shares to institutional investors shortly.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Elco will use the sale proceeds to invest in the US housing market. Several months ago, Elco announced that it would look to the US housing market in conjunction with a local partner. Elco subsidiary Electra Real Estate Ltd. (TASE:ELCRE) already owns properties in the US, as well as Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, India, and Israel.
Elco's share rose 4.2% by midday to NIS 39.90.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 3, 2009
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