Bank of Jerusalem (TASE: JBNK) is joining the race to acquire credit card company Isracard (TASE: ISCD). The details of the bank’s bid are not yet clear, but it said in a statement, "The board of directors of the bank has decided to inform Isracard of its intention to submit, within 21 days, an offer for a deal to acquire all the shares in Isracard in a reverse triangular merger."
Bank of Jerusalem says that most of the consideration will in the form of a share swap. In addition, as in Menorah Mivtachim’s bid for Isracard, the deal will include a significant element of a dividend distribution or a cash payment. "In the bank’s opinion," Bank of Jerusalem states, "in the proposed deal as mentioned between the bank and Isracard there is a dimension that will contribute a great deal to competition in the market, and it holds extensive business potential, given the expectations of developments in the market, that could find expression in a wide range of synergies and complementary areas of activity."
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Bank of Jerusalem has a market cap of just NIS 1.05 billion, while Isracard’s market cap is NIS 2.9 billion.
For the time being, Menorah Mivtachim is the only candidate with a live bid for Isracard on the table. It has offered to buy 33% of Isracard through an allocation of shares, at a valuation of NIS 3.15 billion, plus a dividend distribution of between NIS 700 million and NIS 1 billion before the execution of the deal. Isracard and Menorah Mivtachim signed the deal late last month, and it now has to receive approval from the shareholders, and then to overcome the regulatory hurdles, chief among them the Competition Authority and the Bank of Israel.
Bank of Jerusalem’s offer will presumably be similar.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 21, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
