IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) will suspend negotiations for the sale of Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. (TASE: MAIN) to China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) for one week, and the Makhteshim workers committee will call off their aggressive personal campaign against IDB chairman Nochi Dankner. Representatives of Makhteshim's management and workers announced the agrrement, last night at the end of a meeting mediated by Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini.
Makhteshim's workers committee said that intensive negotiations would be held over the coming week "to keep 4,000 jobs in Israel". Yesterday, Dankner said that Makhteshim's factories in Ashdod and Ramat Hovav would stay in Israel even in the event of a sale to ChemChina, but that Makhteshim's employees would have to recognize the necessity of improving the company's efficiency.
Makhteshim workers committee chairman Yaakov Cohen said last night, "I'm pleased that Nochi Dankner has understood the workers' determination to protect their home. I expect Dankner to prove that, beyond being a businessman, he is also a Zionist who takes care of Israel and Israelis' interests, and will not abandon the future of 4,000 families and of the Negev."
Makhteshim's share price rose 0.3% in early trading to NIS 16.72.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 20, 2010
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