Sources inform ''Globes'' that Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) controlling shareholder Nochi Dankner has rejected out of hand another offer by the supermarket's minority shareholder Matthew Bronfman's Bronfman Fisher Investments Ltd. to buy the company, saying that it was not up for sale. Bronfman Fisher offered a substantial premium on Shufersal's market cap.
Dankner-controlled IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) unit Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI) owns 46.2% of Shufersal. Bronfman Fisher Investments Ltd. subsidiary Isralom Ltd. owns 14.35%, and Edgar Bronfman directly owns 4.3%. Matthew Bronfman partner Shalom Fisher, is co-chairman of Shufersal.
Fisher sought to interest British-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE: BRTS) controlling shareholder Leo Noe as a financial investor in a Shufersal deal, but was turned down. Noe and Bronfman and Fisher have done deals before, notably for Iris Hagilboa Construction and Development Ltd. which owns the land where Bronfman Fisher owned IKEA Israel Rishon LeZion store is located.
Bronfman Fisher Investments has never concealed its wish to acquire control of Shufersal, Israel's largest supermarket chain, but knows that it will need a partner to finance the NIS 3 billion that would probably needed for a deal.
Sources added that Dankner has received two other offers for Shufersal. One of the offers was at a company value of $1.8 billion (NIS 7 billion) a 50% premium on Shufersal's market cap of NIS 4.67 billion.
This was not the first time that Bronfman and Fisher have tried to buy Shufersal. In January 2007, Bronfman Fisher Investments, they offered Discount Investment $642 million for its then 59% stake in Shufersal, reflecting a company of $1.08 billion (NIS 4.2 billion), but after initial talks, Dankner decided not to sell.
IDB said in response, "We received offers in recent months from a number of parties for our holding in Shufersal, including from our good partners, Bronfman Fisher Investments. The offers set prices that are much higher than Shufersal's market cap. The response to all the offers was no, since IDB is not interested in selling Shufersal at any price."
Shufersal's share price rose 1.5% today to NIS 21.88. Discount Investment's share price rose 3.4% to NIS 63.90.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 6, 2010
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