Sherry Arison sold shares of Bank Hapoalim today (Tuesday) for $ 350 million. This is another sale of the bank’s shares by the person who controlled it.
This is about a quarter of the remaining shares for Arison in the bank, a share of 11.35%, worth NIS 4.77 billion. The sale was led by Barak Capital Underwriting and Bank of America.
The sale in the second exercise was made at a price of NIS 25.5 per share. The Hapoalim share is traded today at a value of about NIS 32, ie about 24% above the price at the last exercise.
Towards the end of 2018, Arison sold 4.3% of Hapoalim shares for a similar amount, a little over NIS 1.4 billion and at a share price of NIS 25 – a discount of about 6% on the market price at the time.
In fact, at the end of 2018, Arison began its process of parting ways with the bank. It then received approval from the Supervisor of Banks to cease to be the controlling owner of the bank, and to sell its shares within four years from the moment it starts to do so, when it also has an option to receive an extension of two years.
Once approval was given, Arison ceased to be considered a controlling shareholder, 21 years after her family became the controlling shareholder, and the directors on her behalf resigned.
Arison took control of Bank Hapoalim in 1999, after her father, Ted Arison, acquired control of the bank (43%), along with a group of American investors and the Dankner family in 1997.
Arison Sr. and the group acquired control for $ 1.36 billion, reflecting a $ 3.2 billion value for the bank. Subsequently, Arison acquired the shares of the American partners and the Dankner family for about $ 500 million, so that in 2007 it became the sole controlling owner of the bank.
.