The fate of the Mega supermarket chain has been decided. At the end of yesterday's hearing in the Central District Court on the bidding Mega, Judge Ilan Shilo ordered Mega's trustees to sign the agreement they had reached to sell the chain to Yeinot Bittan, controlled by Nachum Bittan, and to convene a creditors meeting within ten days.
In addition, the judge asked the Antitrust Commissioner to state a position on the matter within fifteen days. The judge thus rejected the demands of the other bidders for Mega, among them Rami Levy, Moti Ben-Moshe and the Tiv Taam retail chain, for a further pricing process, and accepted the recommendation of the trustees.
Investment house IBI notes that, assuming it overcomes all regulatory hurdles, the sale will present Yeinot Bittan with financial and managerial challenges, and the collective agreement signed with Mega's workers will mean high costs, so that there will be little room for cutting the chain's prices, and the main rival chain to Mega, Shufersal, will probably not be adversely affected.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 17, 2016
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