Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, and Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini today agreed to the merger of Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) with Rafael.
At a meeting in Tel Aviv, the three men were presented with the recommendations of the joint team which reviewed the final steps of the plan. They called to merge IMI into Rafael because of the synergies between the two government companies. Government Companies Authority director general Doron Cohen and Ministry of Defense director general Udi Shani chaired the team.
Barak, Steinitz, and Eini also decided that, in two weeks, the plan will be submitted to the cabinet. During this period, the three men will probably meet with representatives of IMI, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1), to hear their positions.
A Ministry of Finance official told "Globes" that, despite the recommendation to merge IMI with Rafael, the team was still open to listening to IAI and to reviewing its position on the merger plan.
In the past few days, Ministry of Finance officials said that if IMI were privatized, it would get only a low price, so it was better to merge the company. Meanwhile, defense contractor Kibbutz Sasa-based Plasan Sasa Ltd. CEO Danny Ziv wrote to Barak, Steinitz, and Cohen asking to acquire IMI's Slavin factory and priced the armored vehicles manufacturer at NIS 350 million.
Yesterday, "Globes" reported that Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) is also not giving up on acquiring IMI.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 20, 2011
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