Sources inform ''Globes'' that, according to the fine print of the deal, Shlomo Ben-Tzvi will make a down payment of just NIS 40 million for the assets of Hebrew daily "Ma'ariv. The full payment to IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) unit Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI) could reach NIS 80 million, depending on how much "Ma'ariv" can collect on its debts.
The sources added that under the terms of the deal, the items relating to the continued employment of hundreds of "Ma'ariv" printing and distribution employees have been settled, even though they are not due to be hired by the new company that Ben-Tzvi will set up to operate the newspaper.
Unless there is a last-minute hitch, the deal is due to be signed tomorrow, after the deal is submitted to Ma'ariv Holdings Ltd's (TASE: MARV-M) board of directors today.
Ben-Tzvi is due to hire 300-400 "Ma'ariv" employees, all from the newspaper's news desks.
Yesterday, "Ma'ariv" employee representatives met IDB chairman Nochi Dankner, and asked him to promise that the employees will receive the full compensation to which they are entitled. They made the request because under the sale agreement, there will be no job continuity, and employees will cease working for Ma'ariv Holdings, and begin new jobs at the company that Ben-Tzvi will set up. Under the agreement, IDB must pay all its commitments to "Ma'ariv" employees, including severance pay.
After the sale, "Ma'ariv" will cease to be part of a public company, and its business activities will no longer be public knowledge.
Ben-Tzvi's currently prints his newspaper "Makor Rishon" at the printing house of Hebrew daily "Haaretz". Under the pending deal with Dankner, "Ma'ariv" will continue to be printed by Ma'ariv's printing house subsidiary A. Levin Epstein Ltd., even if it is sold. It is unclear whether Ben-Tzvi will switch "Makor Rishon's" printer to Epstein. If he does, this could have a major effect on Haaretz Group, owned by the Schocken family, which is also about to lose the printing of Sheldon Adelson's "Israel Today". "Israel Today" has expressed interest in acquiring Epstein in order to print the newspaper.
The parties declined to comment on the report.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 19, 2012
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