Nitsba Holdings Ltd. (TASE: NTBA) today petitioned the court for a stay of proceedings for the new Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, 19 years after the bus station and commercial center opened. Nitsba owns 72% of the property and bus companies Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd. and Dan Public Transport Company own 23%, and the Yona family, which built it, owns 5%. Sources inform ''Globes'' that the petition was filed after the bus station's owners refused to inject more capital into the loss-making property.
The Tel Aviv Central Bus Station owes NIS 250 million, mostly to Nitsba, which acquired control of the property when the company bought the bus station's NIS 193 million debt to Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) in late 2009 for NIS 138 million. When the deal was signed, the deadline for repaying the debt was extended by five years. Prior to the deal, in October 2009, the bank demanded either a debt settlement or immediate repayment of the debt by the bus station
Construction of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station on Levinsky Street in south Tel Aviv began in the 1970s. Local residents called it a white elephant, and just because of its size and white façade, saying that it was ugly, polluting, and would destroy property values. Construction was resumed in 1983, when Mordechai Yona acquired the project through now defunct Heftziba, together with Egged and Dan. The 97,000-square meter project, including 37,000 square meters of commercial space, opened in 1993. Egged and Dan rent most of the building's space, with retailers occupy a third. However, to this day, large areas remain unoccupied, and parts have been taken over by squatters.
The Tel Aviv Central Bus Station lost NIS 7 million in NIS 37 million revenue in 2010 and its revenue fell to NIS 27 million in January-September 2011, with an occupancy rate of just 64%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 12, 2012
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