Bank Leumi says it signed a deal to buy a 13.5% stake in Tnuva, Israel's largest food company, for NIS 388.5 million (about $107 million).
The deal is dependent on regulatory and other approvals, including that of Apax Partners – which owns 56% of Tnuva – as well as Mivtach Shamir also selling the other half of its stake, Leumi said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Mivtach Shamir said in a separate statement that Leumi would lead a consortium to buy its entire stake in Tnuva, with the bank buying 13.5% and other investors acquiring the rest. In all, Mivtach Shamir would receive NIS 775 million ($213 million).
Another deal between Leumi and Mivtach Shamir fell through earlier in the year when Apax and Tnuva refused to disclose Tnuva's financial results as required by Israel's Securities Authority.
Mivtach Shamir and Apax acquired control of Tnuva in 2008 in a deal that valued the company then at $989 million.
Mivtach Shamir was required to sell its holdings in Tnuva after the securities regulator demanded it publish Tnuva's financial results, since Tnuva is a significant holding. In May the regulator halted trading in Mivtach Shamir.
Tnuva was founded in 1929 when 620 agricultural settlements formed a cooperative, mainly to market fresh milk. The agricultural settlements still hold 23.3% of the company.