Will someone other than Shlomo Ben-Tzvi acquire Hebrew daily "Ma'ariv"? On Friday, Adv. Dr. Shlomo Nass and Yaron Arbel, the trustees of Ma'ariv Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MARV-M), which is under a stay of proceedings, published an invitation for bids for Ma'ariv Holdings shares and assets (the newspaper among them) by October 9, 2012.
The move came after Tel Aviv District Court Judge Varda Alshech approved the trustees' motion for the publication. The motion was filed despite the deal for the acquisition of the newspaper between Ma'ariv Holdings' controlling shareholder IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH), controlled by Nochi Dankner, and "Makor Rishon" publisher Ben-Tzvi before the stay of proceedings came into effect.
In the invitation for bids, the trustees said that the majority of Ma'ariv Holdings' operations consisted of the publication of the daily "Ma'ariv" and various magazines and local newspapers, as well as the newspaper's website nrg. The offer also listed Ma'ariv Holdings' printing house and its site in Bat Yam.
The trustees said that they were in talks with various parties, and would continue them during the Sukkot holiday. They added that a bid could be for the purchase of Ma'ariv Holdings shares or for the acquisition of all or some of its assets. They made it clear that a bid may be only for the acquisition of the printing house and/or its land. They said that in some of the negotiations, bidders will be asked to make arrangements for the continued employment of Ma'ariv employees and to hold talks with their representatives for that purpose.
"Ma'ariv" operating as a going concern
"There is no doubt that there is room to allow the officeholders a brief period to examine the possibility of obtaining a higher price for the seller, or better terms," said Judge Alshech in approving the trustees' motion for bids, adding that they had the right to hold talks with Ben-Tzvi as well.
Last week, Judge Alshech granted Ma'ariv Holdings a 30-day stay of proceedings in order to review the sale of the newspaper "Ma'ariv" to Ben-Tzvi and whether there was a better alternative for the company's creditors and employees. During the stay of proceedings, Ma'ariv will be operated as a going concern. In two weeks, the trustees will submit a report detailing their activity and a recovery proposal for the company, which will include reference to the sale of the newspaper to Ben-Tzvi or to another party which will submit a bid for Ma'ariv Holdings.
"Ma'ariv" employees to demonstrate tonight
"Ma'ariv" employees will demonstrate tonight outside Dankner's home in Herzliya Pituah tonight. Although Dankner and his aides have explicitly promised the employees and their representatives that IDB unit Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI) will pay its share of Ma'ariv's debts directly to its employees, including severance pay and pensions, and that "every shekel from the sale of "Ma'ariv" will go directly to the employees", the newspaper's four workers committees say that they refuse to be held hostage to oral promises which would only result in complacency.
"Ma'ariv" employees are still demanding that "Dankner should take responsibility and pay the September salaries, and not shift responsibility on to Ma'ariv Holdings' new trustees. We demand that Nochi Dankner should sign an agreement with us which will guarantee that the employees will receive 100% of their rights, and no less."
Tomorrow, "Ma'ariv" employees will demonstrate outside the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem. The employees say that the purpose is to send a message to the government and the prime minister that "closing the newspaper is destroying democracy. The firing of thousands of employees is a red line. We will not allow the prime minister to hunker down in his silence when "Ma'ariv", an enterprise with thousands of employees, is collapsing."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 2, 2012
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