Another blow to the non-bank credit company United Credit. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange allowed a “separate opening trade” in the stock on Tuesday afternoon Yont And shareholders in the company took advantage of this. Following the move, which was made after trading in the stock was suspended following the series of events that befell the company following the discovery of financial irregularities, the stock fell by 55.5%.
Yonet’s troubles began in early May, when a NIS 3.5 million courier was robbed outside the company’s offices. They continued at the end of that month, so, two days before the deadline for publishing the company’s financial statements for the first quarter of the year, irregularities were discovered in the company’s check activity amounting to millions of shekels. An in-depth examination revealed that there was a mismatch between checks taken at the Nazareth branch and their registration. However, these were not the only findings that emerged in the days following the company’s initial report. Initial investigations found that the company’s CEO and one of its shareholders, Tzachi Azar, took out a loan in the amount of NIS 70,000 from Yonet Credit and did not report it.
Several days passed and the investigation also revealed that the company was exposed following loans it gave to customers, an exposure that Bayonet defined as “significantly higher compared to the company’s previous reports”. It is estimated that these are amounts of tens of millions of shekels given by Yonet Credit as loans and it will be difficult or even impossible to collect them. In light of the new revelations, Kahlon formed the understanding that it is possible that this is the tip of the iceberg, so despite the image damage, even if these are events that were not done during his time, it is better for him to retire from the company now.
The company’s high exposure to unsecured loans brought about by the company’s chairman, the former finance minister Moshe Kahlon, Announce his resignation. Following the series of events and Kahlon’s resignation, the stock exchange announced a halt to trading in the Yonet share.
This morning, the stock exchange announced that the stock will be deducted from the indices – TA-Finance, TA-Insurance and Financial Services, TA-AllShare and TA – growth at the end of trading today. In addition, it was decided that a “separate opening trade” will be held at Biont in order to allow shareholders to sell their holdings in the company, and it was determined that the maximum allowable price fluctuation in a separate opening trade will be unlimited, as is customary.
Even before the stock crashed today, the chain of events along with the already negative momentum in the capital markets, dropped the company’s share by about 75% in the last year, since Kahlon was appointed chairman, and even led a few days ago to file a class action lawsuit against Yonet Credit. Shlomo Isaac, Shai Panso and Tzachi Azar, and against the chairman Kahlon. The lawsuit, in the amount of NIS 5 million, was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court, alleging an offense of carrying out actions contrary to the Securities Law.
Last week, there was another turn in the plot after Yonet reported that two of the controlling shareholders in the company, Shlomo Isaac and Shai Panso, signed a letter of principles with the consulting firm Giza to sell about 18% of their shares to Giza for NIS 10 million.
As part of the understandings between the parties, it was determined that Giza could appoint a CEO on its behalf without pay, and according to estimates, the person designated on its behalf to manage Yonet, if the deal goes through (which is not clear at all), is a rival philosopher, currently serving as Giza’s deputy chairman. And its managing partner.