Sources inform ''Globes'' that Emblaze (LSE: BLZ) founder and shareholder Eli Reifman has been forced to sell his shares in the company to Roy Gil and Eitan Eldar, after running up debts in the grey market, including to Shelly Narkis, considered one of the biggest lenders in the market.
Reifman holds 17% of Emblaze. The company's share price has fallen more than 70% over the past year, and its current market cap is $25 million.
"He owed a phenomenal amount of money to various creditors, including Bank Leumi (NIS 2.8 million), Zvi Williger, and other businesspeople," a source close to Reifman told "Globes".
It was reported this morning that Gil and Eitan would buy Reifman's stake in Emblaze, together with a group of high-tech executives, some of them former managers at billing and customer relations software giant Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), for an estimated $17 million.
Reifman declined to comment on the report.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 26, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008