On Monday, Israel Discount Bank's (TASE: DSCT) board of directors decided not to sell Israel Discount Bank of New York, more than a year after putting the bank up for sale. Instead, it will try to sell Discount New York subsidiary, Uruguay-based Discount Bank Latin America, which mainly operates in retail banking and is reportedly valued at $75 million.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) (Madrid; NYSE: BBVA) is one of the parties interested in Discount Bank Latin America. BBVA is a retail bank that has been expanding its international operations, especially in Latin America. The parties have held talks on the matter.
Discount Bank declined to comment on the report.
The decision not to sell Discount NY is not particularly surprising. A few weeks ago, Discount Bank's controlling core, the Bronfman-Schron Group, announced that it was selling its stake. The group had supported the sale, and with its departure, the chances of a sale shrank.
Discount Bank reportedly sought to sell Discount New York at a price close to its shareholders' equity of $850 million. Most of the offers came from foreign investment funds, which wanted to acquire 20-30% of the bank, and then make an exit a few years later through an IPO. Discount Bank was also in talks to sell Discount New York to Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), but mutual suspicions put paid to a deal.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 28, 2014
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