Tshuva - plans to issue stocks in U.S.
Tshuva's Elad to go public in U.S.
Real estate tycoon will attempt to go public in U.S. with Elad Group in 2006, in bid to raise USD 400-600 million in shares
Israeli real estate tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva will attempt to go public with his Elad Group in the United States once again, after an attempt to do so last year failed.
While Delek Group ltd., which is controlled by Tshuva, is currently in negotiations to purchase part pf the Phoenix Group, Tshuva is examining the possibility of issuing stocks of his assets in north America.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed Tuesday that the Tshuva-owned Elad Group's estates in the United States and Canada will be issued in the beginning of 2006. The stocks' value will be determined after an estimate is conducted in the coming weeks. Foreign banks estimate that Tshuva will raise between USD 400-600 million.
Tshuvas' real estate assets include the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, which he purchased from Saudi billionaire Ibn-Talal. The hotel is now in final stages of renovation.
The tycoon's assets in the United States are concentrated in Miami, New York, and Atlanta. In Canada, he mainly owns assets in Montreal and Toronto.
According to the report, the underwriters that will lead this deal are the Morgan-Stanley and Citigroup investment banks.
Tshuva has tried to issue his company in the Canadian stock exchange last year, but the plan did not to go through, and Tshuva eventually raised the money by issuing bonds in Israel.
Officials at the Elad Group said in response that the company conducts financial examinations routinely, and that these should not be taken to indicate any concrete plan to issue stocks in the near future.
