IRR Capital, owned by Jeff Keil and Edouard Stern, purchased 10% of the shares of Darban investment company controlled by Eliezer Fishman. The shares were acquired for $14 million, at value for Darban of $140 million, similar to its market price and four times its shareholders’ equity.
IRR purchased the shares from Fishman himself (6%) and from other investors (4%). Previously, Fishman had a direct and indirect holding of 85% of the shares of Darban, which engages in investments in real estate and retailing.
Jeff Keil, formerly president of Safra’s US Republic Bank, and Stern, formerly a senior officer at the Lazar Freres investment bank, last year bid in the framework of a group organised by Fishman, in a tender for the purchase of control in Bank Hapoalim, in which the winning bid was posted by the Arison group. IRR chairman Stern said today "We are very pleased with the opportunity to invest with Fishman. My partner, Jeff Keil, has known me well for many years, and we all enjoyed acting together to acquire control in Bank Hapoalim. We hope to co-operate in many other investments".
Fishman himself said he had not yet decided whether to join Keil and Stern in the bidding for the control of Discount Bank, for which the two men are preparing. He said the nature of Darban’s activity would not change as a result of IRR’s advent as a partner in the company.
Darban Investments wound up the first quarter of 1998 on a NIS 5.4 million profit, following a NIS 15.9 million profit for the whole of 1997.
Eliezer Fishman is one of the owners of "Globes".
Published by Israel's Business Arena July 16, 1998