IDB Holding Corp. (TASE:IDBH) chairman Nochi Dankner has told Bloomberg that he is seeking more overseas investments.
Dankner said, "IDB wants to acquire more overseas companies. We are investigating additional deals and not only in the financial sector. I am certain that IDB will continue to expand its global portfolio."
He continued, "There are risks in Israel, and therefore it is only logical that a group like IDB would want to undertake activities outside of the country."
Four months ago Dankner undertook a major investment when IDB's subsidiary Koor Industries Ltd. (TASE:KOR) acquired about 3% of Credit Suisse for $1.1 billion and became the Swiss bank's third largest shareholder.
That deal has raised the international profile of IDB and Nochi Dankner personally.
Dankner said that he conceived the idea of investing in a foreign bank when he read in a newspaper last year on a flight to Singapore that Abu Dhabi was investing $7.5 million in Citigroup. He said that he had drawn up a shortlist of 26 banks to invest in but had chosen Credit Suisse because of its financial strength.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 9, 2009
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