Metis Capital Ltd. (TASE: MTSC; DAX: EIC) today notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that it had called off negotiations with Shlomo Shmeltzer for the sale of Subaru importer Japanauto Ltd. (TASE:JPNT.B1). Metis was talking about selling its 50% holding in Japanauto to Shmeltzer for NIS 135 million. Nevertheless, Metis reiterated that it has not given up plans to sell Japanauto.
In addition to being the importer of Subaru cars, Japanauto also owns a nine dunam (2.25 acre) lot in Herzliya, which is slated for construction of an office high-rise and commercial center.
Shmeltzer is the controlling shareholder in S. Shlomo Holdings Ltd. (TASE:SHLD), which among other interests owns the Shlomo-Sixt, Israel's largest car rental and leasing company. However, Shmeltzer has planned buying the Japanauto stake privately rather than through his publicly traded company.
Negotiations between Shmeltzer and Metis were first reported in September and Metis even signed a document about the sale of its Japanauto stake to Shmeltzer. However, Gad Zeevi, who owns the rest of the shares in Japanauto sought to veto the deal. Zeevi's pressure was removed after the sale of his stake in Bezeq Israel Telecommunications Company Ltd. (TASE:BZEQ) last month, which saw him make an estimate NIS 500 million profit on his holdings in the company and end seven years in the receivership process.
Metis is still eager to sell its Japanauto stake so that it can expand its gas station activities through Petro Group Ltd. (TASE:PTGR), which owns 350 gas stations in the US.
Metis bond was down 3.95% in the late afternoon on the TASE at NIS 16.28. Japanauto was down 0.46% at NIS 6.27 and Shlomo Holdings was unchanged at NIS 18.01.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 17, 2009
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