The children of Raya Strauss Ben Dror have sold their stakes in the company that holds the controlling interest in Israeli food giant Strauss Group (TASE: STRS) to the children of Raya’s late brother Michael Strauss. Strauss Group notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that Ran and Gil Madin sold their shares in Strauss Holdings (24%) to Michael Strauss Assets Ltd., the company in which Michael Strauss’s three children - Strauss Group chairperson Ofra Strauss, Irit Strauss, and Adi Strauss, a director of the company - are partners.
Strauss Group has a market cap on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange of NIS 9.5 billion. Privately-held Strauss Holdings owns 57% of Strauss Group, a stake worth NIS 5.4 billion, from which a value of NIS 1.3 billion can be derived for the stakes of the children of Raya Strauss Ben Dror.
Following the sale, the children of Michael Strauss own 100% of Strauss Holdings, and have thus consolidated their control of Strauss Group.
Raya Strauss Ben Dror has had no active role in Strauss Group, which her brother Michael led and developed, for nearly twenty years. In the past she served in various management positions. In 2005, she decided to stand down, a move she explained by the merger a year earlier between Strauss and Elite, of which she did not approve, as she wished to preserve the traditional atmosphere of the family dairy.
Strauss Ben Dror went on to engage in philanthropic activities, but she has maintained her interest in business and is a substantial shareholder (about 12%) in real estate company Kvutzat Acro (TASE: ACRO) through Strauss Investments.
The late Michael Strauss died in October 2020 aged 86. He came to what was then Palestine from Germany as a child with his parents, Hilda and Dr. Richard Strauss, in 1936, and from a young age worked in the family dairy business in Nahariya. He became chairperson of the group, a position he held until 2001.
Strauss Group’s share price is not at a peak at present. It is down 12% for the year to date, and down 20% since February last year, just before the discovery of salmonella at the group’s confectionary factory at Nof Hagalil, which led to a 90% drop in profits last year to just NIS 64 million.
Besides dairy products, Strauss Group produces chocolate and confectionary, salads and dips and other foods, and it owns the Tami4 countertop water bar business and an international coffee business. It is also a partner with PepsiCo in Sabra, which produces hummus salad and other dips in North America.
In the first quarter of this year, former Ministry of Finance director general Shai Babad was appointed CEO of Strauss Group.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 5, 2023.
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