Mega supermarket chain trustees Adv. Ehud Gindes, Adv. Amir Bartov, and Gabi Trabelsi, CPA, are expected to announce only at the beginning of next week the results of today's secret vote by the creditors on approval of the sale of the chain to Yeinot Bitan. It is believed that Yeinot Bittan won a majority in the vote. The two chains will therefore be merged in the coming days, making Yeinot Bittan Israel's second largest supermarket chain.
Nahum Bittan today announced that he was raising his offer for Mega by NIS 50 million bringing the offer for the acquisition to NIS 325 million. His aim was to remove an obstacle to the deal, after Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd. (TASE:RMLI) controlling shareholder Rami Levy announced in recent days that he would raise his bid against Bittan for Mega by NIS 100 million. Bittan told "Globes" that the creditors had approved the deal.
"We're the only chain with experience in a large merger, and we can prove it," Bittan told one of the creditors, referring to the merger that took place after he acquired the Kimat Hinam chain. When "Globes" asked him whether the Kimat Hinam deal had been a mistake, he answered, "With all the difficulties, Kinat Hinam was a great deal."
Nurit Bittan, Nahum Bittan's wife and business partner, told "Globes" that, initially, she had not really supported the acquisition of Mega Ba'ir. She said, "I had a problem with it at the beginning, but in the end, you follow your husband. I trust him; that's what he likes to do. He's happy about it."
What the Antitrust Authority is afraid of
The Antitrust Authority today notified the court of the issues being considered about a Yeinot Bittan-Mega merger. According to the Antitrust Authority notification, it is concerned about the following:
1. Geographic competition - a check by the Antitrust Authority showed that the merger is liable to have a substantial negative impact on competition in eight areas.
2. Fruits and vegetables - concern that competition in wholesale procurement of fruits and vegetables will be affected is being checked, because Yeinot Bittan is a partner of Bikurey Hasadeh, a major player in this sector.
Other concerns being probed are damage to competition in Internet food sales and the creation of market power against suppliers.
As part of its probe of the merger, the Antitrust Authority has demanded data from 40 separate entities and held talks with retailers, suppliers, fruits and vegetables wholesalers, agricultural growers, the Plants Production and Marketing Board, and relevant government agencies. The Antitrust Authority expects to finish its check within two weeks from now.
The concerns about competition were presented to the trustees and Yeinot Bittan on Tuesday, and the Antitrust Authority expects to hold a meeting on Sunday with the trustees and Yeinot Bittan in attendance.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2016
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