Ma'ariv Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MARV) said today that it does not have the immediate resources to pay back a NIS 106.4 million loan to Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI).
Hapoalim yesterday demanded repayment of the loan within seven days.
Ma'ariv said, "The company is operating in several areas, including contact with Bank Hapoalim about the claimed breaches." Ma'ariv has assets which are under lien to Hapoalim.
New Ma'ariv owner Zaki Rakib invested about $15 million to acquire a 30% stake in the publisher, and also had an option to acquire the company's debt to Hapoalim. However, as "Globes" reported about a week and a half ago, a reported deal between Rakib and the bank did not work out, and covering the loan was delayed.
Yesterday, apparently, the bank's patience wore out, and in response to a Ma'ariv notice that Rakib did not acquire the loan, the bank said that the company did not fulfill its commitments and had to take care of them within a week.
Sources inform "Globes" that over the next week Ma'ariv management will hold a series of meetings with the bank to request a postponement in repaying the loan.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 3, 2011
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