Eli Rozenberg, who is bidding to acquire a controlling stake in El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL), has received a cold shoulder from the airline. Rozenberg requested that the airline’s board should meet his representatives. In response, the airline has written to Rozenberg casting doubt on his identity. Rozenberg, who lives in Israel, is the son of New York businessman Kenny Rozenberg. The exchange of letters took place between ;awyers for the two sides.
RELATED ARTICLES
Treasury chief urges El Al to move ahead on Rozenberg bid
The potential buyer, who has yet to receive a permit to acquire El Al from the Government Companies Authority, sought a meeting between his representatives and the El Al board in order to answer a long list of questions sent to him previously, casting doubt on his identity and on his intention to buy the troubled airline.
El Al’s counsel, Adv. Klagsbald, has now responded with a further letter, citing a letter from Ministry of finance director general Keren Terner to El Al, in which she urged the company to explore the possibility of a cash injection by the potential buyer. The offer is to buy a 45% controlling stake in El Al for $75 million.
Klagsbald again asks for clarification as to the bidder, whether it is Eli Rozenberg’s father Kenny Rozenberg, who, as a foreign resident, cannot buy control of El Al, in which the state holds a golden share. “It Is not clear why your letter does not refer to this basic question,” Klagsbald writes. El Al also says that the deadline it has been given to respond to the bid, August 31, is not realistic, and that unless the date is changed, there is no point in the proposed meeting.
On the basis of various reports, El Al believes that other parties may bid to buy the company. The Government Companies Authority has, however, received only one application for a control permit, that of Rozenberg.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 2, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020