Only 47% of minority shareholders responded to the buyback offer, and Clal Israel's holdings in Clal Trading increased to a mere 88.6%.
A buyback deal offered for Clal Trading shares has failed. Clal Israel, which owned 78% of Clal Trading prior to the offer, will purchase only 3.61 million publicly-owned Clal Trading shares.
Clal Israel had hoped to buy the total 7.7 million shares owned by the public before the sale. In other words, the rate of response to the offer was only 47% despite the relatively high price, 40% over the market rate, offered by the Clal concern. The buyback offer instead attracted investors to the Clal Trading share, which has recorded a 35% rise since the offer was announced, from NIS 6.4 to NIS 8.6, reflecting a company value of $97 million.
Due to the low rate of response to the offer, Clal Israel’s holdings in Clal Trading increased to 88.6%.