Less than a year after the completion of the issuance of shares by an importer and marketer of consumer products diplomat , It has now updated on raising capital of a little over NIS 70 million by issuing about 5% of its shares to several institutional entities, including rule andThe Phoenix Who became interested in the company, with holdings of about 5% -5.5% each.
The allotment was made according to a share price of NIS 52 – a discount of about 5% on the market price of the share at the time of the allotment, and of about 10% of the price issued by a diplomat made in March 2021 according to a share price of about NIS 58. The assignment. In total, the Diplomat share has remained stable since the IPO, so that it reflects a value for the company of around NIS 1.4 billion.
Following the allocation, the share of Jeffrey Mendel and Noam Weiman, controlling shareholders in the diplomat, is expected to be diluted by about 1%, so that the share of Mendel, the chairman, will be about 24% and that of Weiman, the company’s CEO, about 13% .
An investigation into the price coordination case
A diplomat recently made headlines as part of an investigation into the price coordination affair, in which Competition Authority investigators raided the offices of several food importers and marketers and several food retailers, on suspicion of violating competition law. In this context, Weiman and several other officials in the diplomat were questioned last November, and since then a diplomat has not updated on the subject.
Diplomat is engaged in the import, marketing and distribution of consumer products in Israel and abroad, and divides its activities into five geographical areas – the main one is the local market, where it sells and distributes products to 3,000 customers, including large and medium-sized food chains, pharma chains, mini markets, containers, restaurants , Catering companies and wholesalers. Apart from Israel, it operates in South Africa, Georgia, New Zealand and Cyprus.
Diplomat works in collaboration with major food and other manufacturers of food products from the world, and among other things markets Procter & Gamble products, including Gillette razors, Pampers diapers and Ariel washing powder; The chocolate giant Mondeliz between its brands Oreo cookies, Milka chocolate and Cadbury chocolate; And Nestle, whose products include Nescafe, Cheerios cereal and more.
An improvement of about 20% in net profit
In the sum of the first nine months of 2021, Diplomat’s revenues increased by about 2% and reached NIS 2.05 billion, under various effects, and the gross profit line reported an improvement in the sales mix that supported the positive direction.
In contrast, Diplomat showed an increase in its expenses due to rising fuel prices and storage costs, both for a one-time grant paid to CEO Weiman, so its operating profit eroded. About 20% of its net profit, which reached about NIS 62 million.
*** Presumption of innocence: Noam Weiman and other officers in the company are only suspects. No indictment has been filed against them, and they are presumed innocent.