The joint group consisting of Naska Group, owned by businessman Meir Shamir's Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd. (TASE:MISH), and SK Group, led by Samy Katsav, is withdrawing from the tender to acquire Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI).
The dramatic announcement by the two companies to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) did not explain the reason for their decision. Katsav and Shamir joined forces in the tender last May, thereby becoming one of at least 10 different competing groups.
The two main competitors still in the race are Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT), owned by businessman Michael Federmann, and Invictus Holdings, a company founded by US company Flextronics for the purpose of bidding for the acquisition of IMI.
An informed source recent told "Globes" that the decision by Katsav and Shamir was due to an absence of certainty on the part of the Government Companies Authority about the amount that would have to be paid for the elements of the IMI acquisition deal, such as the safety net for the companies' employees, financing for the company's move to the south, etc.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 6, 2016
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