The Bank of Israel is not granting a control permit to the children of Moshe (Mozi) Wertheim at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF). This emerges from a notice from Mizrahi Tefahot to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today.
"The licensing unit in the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Israel has sent a letter stating that, for legal and procedural reasons, the Banking Supervision Department is unable to recommend to the Governor of the Bank of Israel to grant the requested permit. The Wertheim family is examining the letter and its implications," the law firm of Ron Gazit Rotenberg & Co., which works with the Wertheim family, states.
Almost two years ago, Wertheim (84) announced that he was dividing his 22% stake in Mizrahi Tefahot between his children David and Drorit. This announcement came after Mozi Wertheim announced that he was gifting his shares in the Central Bottling Company Ltd. (Coca Cola Israel) to his children: 63% to David, and 37% to Drorit.
The two have since undergone a long process of applying for a permit to control a bank, but it appears that, surprisingly, the process has been unsuccessful, and the Bank of Israel has announced that they will not receive a permit.
The Wertheim family's control of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank is in question, since under the Economic Concentration Law it will have to sell one of its holdings, the Central Bottling Company or Mizrahi Tefahot, in the next few years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 18, 2015
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015