Isracard's new branding.
Intended to wink at customers, but it "succeeded" precisely among the buyers (Photo: Public Relations)
Let's start with the most important aspect of the big deal being forged in the Israeli credit industry.
the customers
Well, actually they probably won't feel any change due to the entrance of new owners to the credit company, if and when it happens.
In contrast, the public investing in the company's shares may already benefit from an increase in Isracard's value today.
The credit company's share price on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reflects a value of slightly more than NIS 2.33 billion.
Until yesterday, the only offer to purchase it was from the Harel Insurance Group, which was ready to purchase Isracard for NIS 2.7 billion.
That is, slightly above its current value.
Harel's proposal won the cooperation of the Isracard management.
Yesterday, Menorah Mivathim also joined the game, announcing its intention to offer Israchart to purchase 32% of its shares, at a price that reflects the company's value at NIS 3.07 billion, i.e. far above its current market value.
Although the submission of the offer depends on the approval of the Bank of Israel even before it is officially submitted to the credit company's shareholders, it may lead to a jump in the company's shares when the selection opens today in Tel Aviv.
Menorah-Mvathim's offer is not only higher than Harel's, but also, apparently, more attractive in that it does not offer to purchase all of the company's shares, but less than a third of them.
Ran Oz, CEO of Isracard (Photo: Tami Bar Shai)
Isracard is a company without a controlling interest.
That is - there is no central shareholder who can be considered the "owner" of the company.
This is a public company that has a board of directors (headed by Tamar Yassur) and a CEO, Ran Oz, who lead the company, but in order to acquire it (or parts of it) the buyer does not need their consent to the sale, but can simply purchase shares from the public. As mentioned, the Isracard management promotes a move of its own for a proactive sale of the company - and Menorah's proposal could be a stick in its wheels.
In the event that the deal with Menorah goes through, Isracard will remain a public company, unlike Harel's proposal which will transfer all the shares of the credit company to its ownership and turn it from public to private. Capital market sources estimate that the reason why Menorah submitted an offer for the purchase of less than a third of the shares, is because it does not have enough resources to offer a purchase of 100% of Mishrachert in cash, unlike the larger Harel.
In any case, despite the high offer of Menorah-Mfathim, it should be taken into account that some regulatory difficulties may delay it, even beyond the 60 days in which it will be in effect.
This is a technical obstacle, but one that may oblige Menorah-Mfathim to offer a new purchase offer.
Be that as it may, the Menorah-Insurers proposal reflects the growing interest of the five largest insurance companies in Israel in entering the credit field.
Assuming that MAX is expected to receive the necessary approvals to be sold to all holdings, only two companies remain on the shelf for four potential buyers.
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Tamar Yasaur, Chairman of the Israchart Board of Directors (Photo: Sivan Faraj)
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