There is not a dull moment in the struggle to acquire Norstar, the controlling owner of the Gazit Globe shopping center management group. Businessmen Yaron Adiv and Kidan Dahari, the controlling shareholders of Tanofort, yesterday submitted a bid to acquire control of Norstar, owned by Haim Katzman, worth NIS 2.1 billion – a higher bid than that of Israel Canada.
The offer is not conditional on deleting Norstar from the listing for trading due to the repayment of its series of listed bonds. At the same time, similar to Israel Canada’s offer, part of the consideration in the transaction also includes an element of the exchange of shares of Gazit Globe.
It is still unclear whether Norstar’s board of directors will agree to discuss Tanofort’s proposal, as Israel Canada, owned by Asi Tochmeier and Barak Rosen, has conditioned the conduct of negotiations on an exclusivity agreement.
Adiv and Dahari offer an additional incentive to Norstar shareholders. According to them, the shareholders who receive the consideration in cash will be entitled to an additional consideration (for the portion of the consideration paid in cash) – receiving 5% of the increase in value of the Gazit Globe share in the three years following the completion of the transaction.
The struggle for control of Norstar proves that the company’s shares, which have jumped 70% since the beginning of the year, have not yet reflected their economic potential. Yesterday, a class action lawsuit of NIS 197 million was reported against Katzman and directors at Norstar for moves made in the company in an attempt to prevent it from taking over.