Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) continues to exploit the peak levels reached by shares of The Phoenix Holdings Ltd. (TASE: PHOE1;PHOE5), the insurance company it controls, to sell off of its holding in parts. Yesterday, Delek sold a further 1% of Phoenix for some NIS 50 million at a price of a little over NIS 20 per share, representing a discount of 2.5% on Phoenix's price at the opening of trading yesterday.
The sale was made off-floor, and as far as is known the share block was sold in its entirety to one of the large insurance companies. Delek Group carried out the transaction through Leader Capital Markets, and the group, controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva, now remains with a 30.6% stake in Phoenix. Phoenix's market cap is currently NIS 5.3 billion, after an 11% rise in its share price so far this year.
The current sale is the fourth sale of Phoenix shares by Delek Group within less than a month. Altogether, it has disposed of 16% of the company's shares for a total of NIS 820 million. It can now sell only a further 0.6% (worth some NIS 30 million) before its holding falls below a controlling stake. It can be assumed that Delek Group will eventually sell its entire remaining stake in a single block at a control premium.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 17, 2018
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