Neil Bush, the brother of former US President George W. Bush and the son of former US President George G.W. Bush, is heading an investor group that is interested in acquiring IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH), controlled by chairman Nochi Dankner. The group includes investors from the US, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
On Tuesday, representatives of the group met with the relevant parties about acquiring IDB. The relevant parties are apparently the IDB bondholder representative and trustees, not Dankner.
Sources close to the group told "Globes" that they were aware of the IDB bondholders' agreement with Eduardo Elsztain to invest NIS 770 million in IDB. Elsztain has the right of first refusal to any third party offer than is at least 8% higher than his own.
On Tuesday, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Varda Alshech rejected the IDB bondholders' votes to extend the deadline of Elsztain's next $25 million payment. He has already deposited $75 million with a trustee.
Bush's group says that it does not intend to break up IDB, but to ensure that "the company's businesses will succeed not only in Israel, but also in other countries." Bush said that the investment in Israel would be the group's first connection with the country, and that he strongly admired Israel, both in terms of its values and its business.
Neil Bush was a member of the board of directors of Denver-based Silverado Savings and Loan, which collapsed in the 1980s' during the savings and loan crisis, costing US taxpayers an estimated $1.3 billion. The US Office of Thrift Supervision investigated Silverado's failure and determined that Neil Bush had engaged in numerous "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." Bush was not indicted on criminal charges, but did pay $50,000 as part of an out-of-court settlement in a civil action against him by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 2, 2013
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