Sources inform “Globes” that that the activities of Routes ASP Investments - Netivim (formerly Benny Cohen Assets Building Development Ltd.) is about to be sold to foreign shipping concerns for $70 million. The sellers will earn a $40 million capital gain.
Yitzhak Tshuva owns 50% of Routes ASP, and Rami Ungar and Routes ASP CEO Uri Haichik jointly own the other 50%.
Haichik and Tshuva declined to comment on the report.
Routes ASP owns three medium-sized container ships, which are currently in high demand, due to a shortage of ships of this type. Routes ASP bought the ships four years ago for $76 million, and leased them to a Korean company.
Routes ASP, under its previous name of Benny Cohen, was a shell company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that was sold to Tshuva, Ungar, and Haichik four years ago. They delisted the company in March 2001, after buying all the publicly-hled shares in an offer to purchase at a company value of $15 million.
In its last statement to the TASE in late 2000, Benny Cohen reported NIS 34 million in revenue from leasing the ships, and a NIS 6 million net profit for four months. According to the statement, the ships were leased for four years at fixed terms.
A foreign bank financed the purchase of the three ships.
The sale of Routes ASP's three ships leaves it without any other business, and it will probably be closed.
Ungar's business in Israel mostly comprises the import of vehicles, but most of his overseas business is in shipping. Ungar imports Japanese Daihatsu and also used to import South Korean Daewoo cars, until the Daewoo Motor Co. was sold to General Motors (NYSE:GM) 18 months ago. Tshuva has no other shipping interests.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 8, 2004