Israel Corp, one of Israel's biggest holding companies, is considering splitting into two companies in a bid to attract a broader range of investors, including more specialists.
If the separation is approved, shareholders of Israel Corp will also hold shares in the new company, it said in a statement. It estimated the separation process would be completed within 6-12 months.
According to the move under consideration, Israel Corp will continue to hold fertiliser and speciality chemicals maker Israel Chemicals (ICL) and Oil Refineries, Israel's biggest refinery. Upon completing this process, Israel Corp will refrain from making investments in new companies.
Separating Israel Corp's holding in Oil Refineries will also be considered in the future, in which case Israel Corp would hold only ICL, the company said.
The companies IC Power, Qoros, shipping company Zim, chipmaker TowerJazz and IC Green would be held by a new company whose place of registration for trading would either be on an international exchange and/or the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Every shareholder in Israel Corp will receive a new share in the separated company alongside each existing share in Israel Corp, the company said.
Israel Corp is controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.
"Our goal is to increase exposure of the company's holdings to both a broader and more focused investor base in the areas of activity relevant to each holding," Israel Corp Chairman Amir Elstein said.
Israel Corp chief executive Nir Gilad said that while working to advance growth in the company's traditional holdings, especially ICL, Israel Corp has developed in the last few years new areas of operations, with an emphasis on the main emerging markets. These include power activities in Latin America through IC Power and automotive activities in China.
Print this page. 