Trading in stocks and bonds of IDB Holding and Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS) was suspended this morning before the companies confirmed reports that Thailand's CP Group, which had expressed an interest in acquiring Clal Insurance and deposited $20 million in an escrow account, had withdrawn from the deal. CP Group controlling shareholder Dhanin Chearavanont has cancelled his visit to Israel. The group's partner, Li Haifeng, a Hong Kong businessman, is trying to find a way to close the deal within the current timetable, according to the companies' notifications to the stock exchange.
CP Group (Charoen Pokphand), one of Clal Insurance's potential buyers, is controlled by Dhanin Chearavanont, a Thai whose family came from China, and is considered one of Thailand's wealthiest men.
Last Thursday, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstin announced that he was postponing, for the second time, the IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) creditors meeting to August 18. At the meeting, the bondholders will hold votes to choose their preferred proposal for a debt settlement.
At the same time, IDB updated the court on the negotiations for the sale of 30% of Clal Insurance. It said that the potential buyers would deposit $20 million in an escrow account in Israel within days, and that a delegation of executives on behalf of the investors would arrive in Israel the following week to pursue negotiations and carry out the necessary checks.
There is another obstacle: obtaining a permit to transfer the controlling interest in Clal Insurance from the Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Department, headed Prof. Oded Sarig.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 14, 2013
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