Israeli exporter Agrexco moved a step closer to being sold to the Kislev Group today as it was identified as the only serious bidder for the company.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge Varda Alshech extended the stay of proceedings until 30 August.
Kislev Forwarding and Customs Clearing Ltd., owned by Zvi Grinberg, bid for Agrexco alongside Dutch private equity fund Vertical Capital Group during a special legal hearing today.
Israeli financial title Globes described Vertical’s bid - which involved laying off large numbers of employees - as having “more holes than Swiss cheese”.
"Astonishingly, the state folded its arms in the face of the company's collapse… I can only regret this conduct," Alshech said of the government, which has a 30.3 per cent stake in the exporter.
Ron Glowinsky, who has succeeded Oded Yacovsen as Agrexco’s general manager in the UK, confirmed that Kislev is the only company still in the running but said “the court has given more time to everybody else”.
He told FPJ that Vertical’s bid was “bad” and that Kislev’s proposals will be “checked thoroughly” before the 30 August deadline.
Kislev is offering to keep 150 of Agrexco's employees. It is offering NIS 35 million in seven installments, plus NIS 55m paid out of a proportion of the company's profits, for a total of NIS 90m, according to Globes.
Company trustee Shlomo Nass, who oversaw the sale and has many years' experience of finding buyers for companies, said the sale had been the most difficult he had ever encountered.
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