Avis Israel franchisee Kardan Vehicle Ltd. (TASE: KVCL) has bought out its partner in the Ferrari and Maserati franchisee, Auto Italia IL Ltd., paying Zohar Alon NIS 8 million for hsi 50% stake. Alon will stay on as an adviser for 12 months at NIS 45,000 a month, plus VAT. He also promises not to compete against Auto Italia for three years.
Kardan Vehicle's financial report show that Auto Italia has not been profitable since it became a partner in the franchise. Auto Italia's loss ballooned from NIS 400,000 in 2011 to NIS 2.4 million in 2012. It sold 29 Ferraris and Maseratis in 2012, and 13 cars in January-May 2013. Prices for the cars displayed at Kardan Vehicle's showroom in Tel Aviv exceed NIS 2 million.
Kardan Vehicles assumed full ownership of Auto Italia after failing to find a buyer for the company earlier this year for NIS 15 million.
Kardan Vehicles is jointly controlled by Kardan NV (TASE: KRNV;AEX:KARD), controlled by Yosef Grunfeld and Avner Schnur, and by the Eini family, which also owns Chevrolet and Isuzu importer Universal Motors Israel Ltd. (UMI). Industry sources believe that Kardan Israel acquired full control of Auto Italia in order to sell it as a single unit.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 26, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013