Moti Zisser

Hapoalim set to sell Elbit Imaging stake

Number of bodies, including two foreign realty funds, express interest in acquiring Moti Zisser's stake in Elbit which is encumbered to bank. But before official proposal submitted, Zisser pledges personal securities against loan, meaning he may be declared bankrupt

Golan Hazani, Calcalist|Published: 12.04.11 , 13:36

The spat between Bank Hapoalim and businessman Moti Zisser escalates: The bank disregarded the final agreement Zisser submitted to the Bank for the sale of his private holdings in the Belgium and Holland hotels, and is independently carrying on with the liquidation of Zisser's Belgium hotel holdings through negotiations of its own.

The sale of the assets will be permitted once the appointed Belgium law firm concludes receivership proceedings on the said holdings. The bank is represented by Attorney Alex Hartmam and Zisser is represented by Attorney Lipa Meir.

Apparently the bank refuses to hold talks with Zisser until he pays the balance of the loan's principle which is currently NIS 120-130 million (about $32-35 million).

Zisser had already reached an agreement with a buyer over the Belgium hotel; however, sources with knowledge of the affair say Zisser did not transfer the proceeds to the bank because Hapoalim has not yet lifted the lien on the shares.

The bank has no guarantee that Zisser will make the future payments under the present plan (prime plus 0.5% interest and NIS 50 million a year towards the balance of the principle which is currently some NIS 760 million, including interest).

Concurrently with the liquidation of Zisser's hotel holdings, the bank is also negotiating with parties interested in the acquisition of Elbit Imaging. Calcalist has learned that at this point there are five local and foreign potential buyers, however, no official bid has been submitted as of yet.

At least two of the parties are foreign real estate investment funds and a source knowledgeable of the deal says that "the parties are well familiar with international real estate in Elbit's areas of activity. Negotiations began on the initiative of these parties who approached the heads of the bank with an offer."

Estimates on the market are that the outline for the deal – if and when it is closed – will include the transfer of NIS 150-200 million ($40-55 million) to the company and several hundreds of millions of shekels to Bank Hapoalim against Elbit's encumbered stock.