Now it's final: The creditors of supermarket chain Mega have approved its sale to Yeinot Bittan, and once the decision is confirmed by the court, the merger between the two chains will go ahead. Yeinot Bittan, owned by husband and wife Nurit and Nahum Bittan will become Israel's second largest retail chain, after Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE).
Yeinot Bittan, which has 71 branches and an annual sales turnover of NIS 2.8 billion, will absorb the Mega Ba'ir chain of 127 branches with an annual turnover of NIS 2.2 billion.
The antitrust commissioner may force Yeinot Bittan to sell some branches but Bittan promised Mega's creditors that this will not reduce the price to be paid for the chain.
Israel's ten largest suppliers supported the merger, headed by Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), the Central Bottling Company (Coca Cola Israel), Netto, Sano, Unilever, Tempo, and Hogla-Kimberley. It is believed that Tnuva and Osem Investments Ltd. (controlled by Nestl? SA (SWX:NESN)) (TASE: OSEM) also supported the merger after credit insurance companies ICIC (Israeli Credit Insurance Company) and Clal Insurance informed their customers that they were in favor of it. Many other suppliers, including small suppliers, voted for the merger.
Last Thursday, just before the creditors meeting, Yeinot Bittan raised its price for Mega by NIS 50 million to NIS 325 million. In Yeinot Bittan's original bid, the extra NIS 50 million was conditional on Mega's performance.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 29, 2016
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016