Crystal Consumer Products Ltd. (TASE:CRSL) today signed a contract to acquire Tadiran Appliances Ltd. from Carrier Corporation for NIS 16 million, after six months of negotiations. Crystal is basically acquiring the distribution and marketing business of Tadiran Appliances; the Tadiran Carrier home and industrial air conditioner factory in Afula will be closed by the end of the year.
Crystal Consumer Products manufactures and markets Amcor refrigerators and is the authorized importer of AEG, Amana, Blomberg, Daewoo De Dietrich Maytag, and Spectra appliances. The company promises that Tadiran Appliances will be the exclusive distributor in Israel of Tadiran, Amcor Carrier, and Toshiba appliances.
Crystal Consumer Products CEO Moshe Mamrud said, "We're buying activity in good shape in which Carrier's management decided to close the Afula factory. We're reviewing all our options to keep some manufacturing activity in Israel. In the present market climate, this is virtually impossible without government aid."
Israel's home and industrial air conditioning market is estimated at NIS 1.2 billion a year. Tadiran Appliance was the second largest company in the market in 2008, with a market share of 24%, after the 45% market share held by Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELTR).
Crystal Consumer Products' share rose 14.2% by early afternoon to NIS 8.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 18, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009