Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstin today effectively disqualified the joint bid for IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) by the Dolphin consortium of Eduardo Elsztain and Xtra Holdings AG of Motti Ben-Moshe. The judge rejected a motion by the Dolphin consortium to postpone the meeting by IDB Holding's creditors by three days. Elsztain and Ben-Moshe had requested the postponement of today's meeting after they submitted a joint bid for IDB on Sunday.
Orenstin's decision means that the IDB Holding's bondholders will vote on four bids: two alternatives submitted by the Nochi Dankner-Alexander Granovksy consortium; the original bid by Elsztain's Dolphin group; and the original bid by Ben-Moshe's Xtra Holdings. The bondholders will not vote on Elsztain and Ben-Moshe's joint bid.
"I cannot accept the petitioners' claim that the submission of the new bid requires postponing the entire process," wrote Orenstin in his decision, adding that postponing the bondholders' preliminary meeting would result in a postponement of his decision in the case on December 5.
Orenstin said that accepting the postponement would allow an auction between Elsztain and Ben-Moshe's joint bid and the bid by the Dankner-Granovsky group, which he had already rejected. Furthermore, a postponement would require a new expert opinion, which would further drag out the debt settlement for IDB. Orenstin said that this would harm the legitimate interests of IDB's creditors for an end to the process.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 18, 2013
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