The share issue process will end before the holidays • After joining Jason Greenblatt: Potential buyer Eli Rosenberg is considered the most serious candidate
El Al planes.
The IPO is on its way
Photo:
Coco
In a letter sent to members of the board of directors and management of EL AL on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, it was determined that the share issue process of the largest airline in Israel will be completed before the holidays.
According to the letter signed by Finance Ministry Director General Keren Turner, EL AL will publish a public offering as early as September 10, the process will last five days, and on September 15 the shares that will not be purchased by the public will be purchased by the state. The state, if necessary, will be gradually acquired for various bureaucratic reasons.
Currently, there are three groups interested in El Al.
Potential buyer Eli Rosenberg is considered the most serious candidate.
Rosenberg, who added Jason Greenblatt to the Eagles' Wings, has already deposited $ 15 million in a trust, offered a 5% higher than the market value of 44.99 of the company's shares and received official approvals from various sources in the country regarding his eligibility to serve as the company's controlling shareholder.
Demonstration of El Al employees // Archive photo: El Al Employees Committee
The shares offered will constitute about 67% of El Al, Rosenberg or any other investor will not be able to purchase more than 44.99, and here too it is a matter of taxes and bureaucracy.
Rosenberg's proposals have so far not been favorably received by EL AL board members, and it is expected that potential buyers - some of whom are interested in joint control with the current owner, Wings - will try to do so as part of the IPO process.
Another possibility that exists is that Wings will invest the amount and will not allow additional investors to enter.
Following the completion of the IPO process, El Al will attempt to raise a $ 250 million loan from the banks, in which case the company is expected to raise all of the $ 400 million it needs to return to operations, cover its debts proportionally and begin repaying sick workers. Long negotiations in recent months have not rushed to give El Al its 75% guarantee that the state will be a guarantor, and El Al is also experiencing difficulties in this area.
El Al currently has more than a billion shekels in customer debt.
The company intends to offer future flight tickets and various offers to minimize refunds that will come directly from the loans and money that will enter the company following the issuance of the shares.