Bank Hapoalim (LSE:BKHD; TASE:POLI) will lead a bank financing consortium for the Alon-Dor group acquisition of Blue Square Israel (NYSE: BSI; TASE:BSI), Alon-Dor president David Wiessman said in a “Globes” interview.
Wiessman rejected assertions that Alon-Dor was already over-leveraged. He said, “We have many companies with large equities; you can’t judge us by the liabilities of one company. If you combine the equity and liabilities of all the companies, you’ll see our situation is excellent.”
Regarding the price of the deal, which is 20% higher than the Blue Square market price, and $100 million more than the other bids, Wiessman declared, “I don’t for one minute regret our bid. All the factors have already been taken into account.
”Tender losers always say the winners paid too much, but they are always willing to trade places with the winner the following morning. I’ve no doubt this is also the case with Blue Square Israel.”
Wiessman stresses the importance of the partnership with Matthew Bronfman, especially at the current time: “I tip my hat to him; I can’t think of another foreign businessman who has invested so much in Israel. Other wealthy Jewish businesspeople will undoubtedly follow his example, and invest in Israel.”
Wiessman said he obviously had plans for Blue Square, but it was too early to disclose them. At the same time, he said he expected Blue Square to cooperate with the Super Alonit store chain, which operates in Dor-Alon filling stations. He added that the buyers hoped that Blue Square Israel president and CEO Yoram Dar would continue in his position.
Wiessman said the new owners had no plans to exercise their right to withdraw a $100 million dividend from Blue Square. He also stated that the division of responsibility between himself and Bronfman had not been decided, saying, “We’ll draw up a strategic plan together; we’re equal partners in everything.”
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on April 8, 2003