Even after yesterday's clear defeat in the vote by IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) bondholders, Nochi Dankner is not giving up. Following the vote, his spokesman said, "The headlines about the transfer of control of IDB are premature. The counting of the votes and the legal process are not yet over. It should be remembered that, just two weeks ago, there was a vote in which we had a huge majority, and I believe that the last word has not yet been said, and that the final result will be different."
An aide to Dankner told "Globes", "Dankner is fighting for his home. He will not give up so quickly, certainly not before utilizing every means, especially legal action, to appeal yesterday's results."
Dankner has personal guarantees to the banks amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels, mostly in his private companies Ganden Investments Ltd. and Tomahawk Investments Ltd., through which he controls IDB. His stubborn fight for IDB is therefore understandable, because transferring IDB to the Eduardo Elsztain-Motti Ben-Moshe consortium will cause the banks to call in these personal guarantees, just as they did to Mordechay Zisser over the debts of Elbit Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT), including his luxury estate in Kfar Ganim, and to Ilan Ben-Dov over the debt of Scailex Corporation (TASE: SCIX; Pink Sheets:SCIXF), including land he owned in Kfar Shmaryahu.
Dankner's partners in his consortium are less sanguine. A source in Netz Group Ltd. (TASE:NETZ), controlled by Zvi Itzik, said today, "Netz Group's participation in the IDB deal was a function of the company's strategy to invest in troubled companies and to contribute our managerial and financial knowhow. Any decision about Netz's subsequent moves will be based on this strategy."
It cannot be ruled out that Dankner's plan to prolong the legal proceedings over IDB could cause more cracks in his consortium with Alexander Granovsky that will cause some members to quit.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 9, 2013
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