Koor Industries (TASE: KOR) has announced it is in talks to sell 50% of its 39.54% controlling share in MA Industries (Makhteshim Agan) (TASE: MAIN) to a third party. The announcement is the latest in a string of reports on deals by the IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) group.
Koor said it had been contacted by a number of international parties interested in acquiring its holding in Makhteshim Agan but had turned them down. The company stressed that there was no certainty that the talks currently under way would lead to an agreement on a sale. Makhteshim Agan currently has a market cap of NIS 14.7 billion.
Koor also announced that it had ended talks on an investment in Indian telecommunications services company Tata Teleservices. The company said on Thursday that it was negotiating on the investment of up to NIS 2.5 billion in the Indian company.
Koor also reported last Thursday that it filed the second draft of a prospectus for a rights issue with the Israel Securities Authority, adding that the size, terms, and date for the issue had not yet been set and that there was no certainty that it would be held.
Makhteshim Agan has benefited from the positive momentum in the global agrochemical sector in recent weeks, with its share rising 27.7% since the beginning of April. The share is now within reach of the high it reached before the slump in January after the company issued an earnings warning for 2007.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2008
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