Fattal Hotel Management bought the Magic Nirvana Hotel from Magoor Holdings subsidiary Lifshir (TASE:LFSR) on Friday. Fattal is controlled by CEO David Fattal, and Magoor is controlled by Oded Ronen.
This is the first time that Fattal has bought full ownership of a hotel. Fattal is part owner of the hotel due to be built in the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv, along with Jacob Shachar, Shimshon Harel and other business partners.
Fattal has only managed hotels until now. It currently manages 11 hotels in Israel, making it one of the country's two largest chains.
The 388-room Magic Nirvana Hotel is one of the largest hotels at the Dead Sea and in Israel. This is one of the largest hotel deals in Israel in recent years. Lifshir notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) several months ago that it was planning to sell the hotel, but did not mention a buyer.
The sale was made at $77,000 per room. The final price is likely to change slightly, subject to the hotel's performance in the next few years. Sources close to the deal did not mention its price, but calculations reach a price tag of NIS 135-160 million, depending on the hotel's future performance.
The deal is considered very worthwhile for Fattal, since the Magic Nirvana Hotel is a five-star hotel at the Dead Sea, a popular destination for both Israeli and foreign tourists.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 7, 2004