The sale of Tachlit Investment House Ltd. is picking up speed, as its owners, Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) and Michael Davis, opened talks in the past week with potential buyers. They include Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL) unit Migdal Capital Markets Ltd., which is believed to have the best chance of buying the company. Sources inform ''Globes'' that Migdal Capital Markets chairman Victor Medina is heading the company's negotiating team.
In February, Discount Bank, which owns 20% of Tachlit, announced that it would expedite the sale of its stake in the company, which the bank is required to sell by 2013. An early sale of Tachlit, before the deadline, suggests that the bank believes that the current opportunity for a sale, with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) at a peak, will not be repeated.
Sources close to Michael Davis at one point believed that he will not sell his holding in Tachlit, and might torpedo a sale by Discount. Since then, the likelihood of his joining a sale in one way or another has increased.
If Davis joins the deal, there are two ways for him to sell his stake in Tachlit: either Davis will sell part of stake in the company to the buyer of Discount Bank's stake, reducing his holding in Tachlit to 50%; or he will sell is entire stake, giving the buyer full control of Tachlit.
Tachlit has a value of NIS 230 million, based on 1.8% of its assets under management.
For Migdal Capital Markets, the acquisition of Tachlit will add a missing link to its products portfolio of mutual, provident, and advanced training funds.
Other ETF managers have not expressed an interest in Tachlit.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 8, 2010
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010