Alfa-Bank has scored a success in its legal battle against Alexander Granovsky, who controls food company G. Willi-Food Investments Ltd. (TASE:WLFD). Yesterday, the court forbade Granovsky to mortgage his holding in BGI Investments (1961) Ltd. (TASE: BGI), through which he holds the controlling stake in Willi-Food, in favor of the Williger brothers, as part of an agreement for a loan which the latter were to have granted him.
It now seems that this deal, for a loan of NIS 83 million, will be stymied, as was a previous deal whereby Granovsky attempted to introduce partners into his businesses in Israel.
Granovsky, who got into cash flow difficulties last year and has not been meeting his private commitments, controls Willi-Food via BGI (traded in Tel Aviv) and Emblaze (traded in London). The legal proceedings were started last month by Alfa-Bank, one of the largest banks in Eastern Europe, to recover a debt of $15 million from Granovsky. The source of the debt is a loan that the bank granted to a company that Granovsky controls, for which he signed a personal guarantee.
In the legal proceedings, Alfa-Bank opposed Granovsky obtaining a loan he had agreed upon with the Williger brothers, from who he bought control of Willi-Food. For his part, Granovsky accused the bank of fraud and lack of bona fides.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 23, 2015
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