Micky Arison has severed his final ties with Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), with the sale of his 23% of Arison Holdings Ltd. to his younger sister, Shari Arison, today, giving her full control of the company. He owns the stake through Nickel 97A Trust.
The size of the deal is not known, and Arison Holdings declines to comment on the matter. Arison Holdings owns 20.2% of Bank Hapoalim; the value of the Bank Hapoalim shares that Shari Arison will acquire through the deal is about NIS 800 million, after the 31% fall in the bank's share price this year.
A knowledgeable source said, "This is a family deal.
Micky Arison is the controlling shareholder in and chairman of Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL; LSE: CCL), and has not been involved in Bank Hapoalim since giving his voting rights to Shari. "Globes" first reported his wish to sell his stake in Arison Holdings three years ago, but then Supervisor of Banks Roni Hezkiyahu refused to approve a deal, which was then suspended in the wake of worsening global financial crisis.
At the time, the Bank of Israel was worried about Bank Hapoalim's conduct, and it did not want Shari Arison to be the sole controlling shareholder of the bank without another counterbalancing party. No bank in Israel has only one controlling shareholder.
In 2009, the Bank of Israel forced the resignation of Bank Hapoalim chairman Dan Dankner, who was subsequently indicted on charges of bribery, aggravated fraud, fraud, breach of corporate trust, impairment of proper conduct of a banking corporation, and violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Law (5760-2000). The Bank of Israel feels comfortable with his successor, Yair Seroussi, and his conduct at the bank.
Shari Arison owns 22.62% of Bank Hapoalim, 20.22% through Arison Holdings and 2.4% through wholly-owned subsidiary Israel Salt Industries Ltd. She owns Arison Holdings through foreign trusts: Eternity Holdings One Trust and Eternity Four A Trust. Her son, Jason Arison, is a director of Arison Holdings and will reportedly expand his activity in it.
Shari Arison has been gradually increasing her stake in Arison Holdings since 2006, and through it, in Bank Hapoalim. In March 2006, she bought the 15% stake of then-Bank Hapoalim chairman Shlomo Nehama. In December 2006, she bought the stake of Marilyn Arison, the widow of her father, Ted Arison, as part of the redistribution of holdings of the trusts through which the family owns Arison Holdings. Shari Arison reached a 70% stake in the company through these deals.
Shari Arison further increased Arison Holdings' stake in Bank Hapoalim by buying out her American partners in the controlling interest in the bank, Michael Steinhardt, Len Abramson, and the Schusterman family. She then bought out the Dankner's stake in Salt Industries.
Bank Hapoalim's share price rose 0.7% by midday today, giving a market cap of NIS 16.8 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 13, 2011
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