Tel-Aviv District court vice-president Judge Yishai Levitt today (Thursday) authorised Dr. Ariel Halperin, head of the kibbutzim arrangement committee and the trustee handling the arrangement on behalf of the Techen factory creditors, to take all steps necessary to liquidate the Phoenix group, owned by some 30 kibbutzim, and to transfer the balance of the group's assets in favour of the trustee.
The Judge further authorised Dr. Halperin to undertake all procedures required for realising the rights of the Phoenix group, and filing complaints against the group's management companies, accountants, former legal advisors, with the competent authorities, including disciplinary, criminal and administrative authorities. He is also empowered to take legal steps to rescind Court judgments obtained against the group by Adv. Yosef Yerushalmi.
Dr. Halperin said, in his motion to the Court, that the cessation of the activity of the Phoenix group and the transfer of the balance of its assets to Israel, was, from the outset, one of the aims of the Techen factory creditors' arrangement. He said the government had stipulated, as a condition for putting NIS 150 million at the disposal of the Techen factory creditors, that the Kibbutz Haartzi undertake that the shareholders of the Phoenix group transfer all the remaining assets to Israel and liquidate the activity of the group.
After the foreign interests of Phoenix are settled, the balance of the assets will be applied to further write-off of debts of the kibbutzim. Halperin said funds expected from the Phoenix group derive from credit insurance policies of group companies, the excess consideration from the sale of subsidiary company Castroyal’s share in a building in Paris, and collection of kibbutz debts in Israel.