A government official today told the Beersheva District Labor Court that there were no talks about a sale of Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL) to Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE; TSX: POT). Adv. Yaakov Azulai told Judge Alon Sofer, "There were talks in the past, but there are no formal talks now."
Adv. Gideon Rubin, who represents Israel Chemicals' employees, said in response, "You claim that there has been no formal request by Potash Corporation, and that there are no formal talks, but are there informal talks or negotiations? The constant media reports on the matter are not groundless."
Rubin added, "When the finance minister and social affairs minister say that they object, and the prime minister is silent, something is strange. I ask the court to accept our petition for updates, and to monitor developments. I propose that Israel Corporation chairman Elstein and the director general of the Prime Minister's Office, who are holding the unofficial talks, come and provide reports and say what is happening in these unofficial negotiations. When Elstein tells the media that he is a party to talks about a merger, and that the workers won't be affected, he is apparently saying something."
Israel Chemicals' lawyer said, "We've already said that we will cooperate with the court. It's impossible to pass the deal without approval of the authorized parties, such as the government ministries and the Antitrust Authority."
Judge Sofer asked, "Will you object to a remedy of an announcement about the deal's progress within 24 hours?
Rubin replied, "We oppose this remedy, because we're talking about a public company, which is required to notify the TASE. The workers won't wake up tomorrow morning to a done deal."
Judge Sofer ordered the government and Israel Chemicals' parent company Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO) to notify the court of any change in their positions within 24 hours.
Armond Lankri, the chairman of the workers committee of Israel Chemicals unit Dead Sea Works said in response to the decision, "This is a small step in the right direction, but we're still worried about the information talks, which are liable to result in the closing of a deal behind our backs. We'll continue our struggle until Israel Corp/. and the prime minister announce that there is no deal."
Although both the government and Israel Corp. deny that there are talks to sell Israel Chemicals, Potash Corporation has broken silence, publicly saying that it will soon publish a new offer for Israel Chemicals, indicating that it has already made an offer and that there are negotiations between the parties.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 7, 2013
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