At the end of last week, Emblaze Ltd. (LSE: BLZ) released an official announcement to the London Stock Exchange of the sale of its 49% stake in Formula Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: FORTY; TASE: FORT) to Polish computing company Asseco for $139 million. This is the third time control of Formula has changed hands in recent years, after Ishay Davidi's FIMI fund invested in it in 2005.
The buyer did not suffice with Emblaze's stake, and bought a further 2% of Formula for about $5 million. 1% of the extra that came from the sale of a third of the holding of Emblaze and Formula CEO Guy Bernstein, who received approximately NIS 10 million for it - a quick exit from options he received in early 2009.
The sale of Formula is not a surprise. Emblaze has never concealed its intention to sell the company' at a profit, and in the past year it has been trying to sell its holding. Emblaze noted in its statement that the deal price reflects a premium of 43% on the share price of Formula, which is traded on Nasdaq and in Tel Aviv.
As a result of the deal, Emblaze is expected to post a capital gain of $35 million. Over the period it has held Formula, since the end of 2006, Emblaze has made about $67 million, including dividends from Formula.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 5, 2010
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