Supervisor of Insurance Eyal Ben-Chelouche has forbidden Israel Kass and Jacob Shachar and his wife to sell control of the Mayer Cars & Trucks auto import agency. This is one of the terms listed in the permit for acquiring Israel Phoenix Assurance that Ben-Chelouche today gave Kass and Shachar in a ceremony attended by Minister of Finance Silvan Shalom.
The permit stipulates that Kass and Shachar can sell up to 49.9% of Mayer Cars & Trucks, but may not sell the shares to a banking corporation.
The limitation was imposed because Mayer Cars & Trucks bought 58% of Israel Phoenix. The limitation is designed to prevent even partial ownership of Israel Phoenix without the permission of the authorities.
Another reason is to prevent a bank from becoming an indirect shareholder in Israel Phoenix. This condition will strengthen the separation between the banks and insurance. Up until now, the banks have been allowed to have 20% ownership of an insurance company. In the case of Israel Phoenix, however, a bank cannot hold even a small stake.
Another restriction in the permit stipulates that Shachar and Kass may not sell control of Israel Phoenix for the next five years. This restriction is designed to safeguard the long-term stability of company management. Kass and Shachar acquired control of Israel Phoenix from chairman and CEO Joseph (Yossi) Hackmey and his sister Nitza on Tuesday for $314.2 million.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on July 11, 2002