Granite Hacarmel Investments Ltd. (TASE: GRNT), of the Azrieli Group Ltd. (TASE: AZRG), announced yesterday evening that it was selling paints company Tambour, based in Netanya, to the Singapore-based Kusto group for NIS 500 million. The sale is an "as is" deal. The buyers have deposited an advance payment of NIS 70 million with Granite Hacarmel.
Azrieli Group is expected to post a post-tax gain of some NIS 50 million, while Granite Hacarmel's post-tax gain will be about NIS 60 million.
Azrieli Group had been in talks earlier this year to sell Tambour to UK-based private equity firm Apax Partners for a similar price.
Kusto is a privately owned international industrial holding company with varied interests, including in construction, real estate, building materials, and energy. It is active in North America, Eastern Europe, and South-East Asia, with a global turnover of $1.4 billion annually.
Daniel Kunin, managing director at The Kusto Group Inc., said that Kusto was not a financial investor. "We believe in long-term, sustained investment. Tambour is a leader in its field in Israel, and we chose it in order to turn it, with its employees, into a leading Israeli company in the global construction materials industry. This is our first investment in Israel."
Menachem Einan, chairman of Granite Hacarmel and acting chairman of the Azrieli Group, said, "The deal for the sale of Tambour is the realization of the group's strategy of focusing on its core activity in income-producing real estate and selling businesses not connected to this field. The buying group plans to invest in and expand Tambour's activities in Israel and globally. I am sure that this deal is excellent for Tambour and its employees, and that under Kusto's leadership the company will go on to great success."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 27, 2014
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