Suny announced today that it would acquire 90% of the shares of the Tapuz portal in consideration of Suny shares worth $7.2 million (2% of the company's capital). This reflects a value of $8 million for Tapuz.
This move will involve the transfer of control in Tapuz to Suny subsidiary Suny.com. At a later stage, the activity of the Achla portal (in which Suny has an 80% stake) will be merged into Tapuz by the transfer of 70% of Achla's shares to Tapuz.
The deal is still subject to due diligence. The value of the Suny shares due to be allocated to the owners of Tapuz will be determined as an average of the closing quotations of Suny shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange over a period of 90 days, commencing 45 trading days before the signing date of the memorandum of understanding.
Control in Tapuz is currently divided among a number of principal shareholders: the portal's two founders, Nir Lotan and Gilad Bieman, each with a 30% holding; Samurai Web Venture and LD, each with 14%; and the Mivtach Shamir holding company, which holds the balance of the shares. Following the deal, Lotan and Bieman will evidently continue to hold 10% of the Tapuz shares. Sources associated with the Suny management reported that the deal is contingent on Suny's shares being blocked "for years".
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 13 July 2000