Infrastructures company Tahal, controlled by Kardan NV (TASE: KRNV;AEX:KARD), continues to expand its activity in Africa. Together with its partner in projects in Angola and Zambia, ZRB, Tahal has signed an agreement with the government of Zambia for the planning and construction of an agriculture and water project. The project is for a community and agricultural settlement covering some 14,000 acres. It will include hundreds of family farms and commercial farms for sale, with power and water infrastructure, roads and drainage, irrigation systems, greenhouses, and poultry houses for eggs. The project also includes the planning and construction of a logistics, packing and marketing center, storage for agricultural inputs, produce refrigeration facilities, agricultural machinery, and laboratories.
The three-year project is estimated to be worth NIS 640 million ($176 million), divided equally between Tahal and ZRB. It is subject to several pre-conditions, the main one being financial closure by the Zambian government. Assuming that this is forthcoming, the project will add to Tahal's existing orders backlog of NIS 2.2 billion.
Kardan NV has been under pressure for some time to sell assets in order to meet payments to its bondholders. Its share price has fallen 30% in the past year, bringing its market cap to a low of NIS 54 million. Kardan NV has three main assets: Kardan Land China, which is active in real estate in China; a 98.4% stake in Tahal; and a 66% stake in the Avis franchisee in Ukraine (the rest is held by UMI).
In recent weeks, Kardan has been engaged in an orderly process for the sale of Tahal, led by Eytan Rechter, one of the controlling shareholders, Kardan CEO Ariel Hasson, and Tahal CEO Saar Bracha. It was reported in June that at least two binding bids for Tahal had been received from Chinese companies for not less than €120 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 21, 2017
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