July 18, 2021:

Energy and retail company Paz Oil Company Ltd. (TASE:PZOL) has failed to sell its oil refinery. The company’s board of directors has instructed its management to prepare a plan for spinning the Ashdod oil refinery from the company through the distribution of a dividend in kind or similar equipment to make the oil refinery an independent, completely separate company. “This will allow the company to focus on growth in its other core areas in line with the strategic plan established by the board in May this year, such as in retail and real estate,” Paz said in a statement. Paz is Israel’s leading fuel station and grocery store with 256 gas stations. It owns real estate, on which 106 of its service stations stand, and rights to other land. The company rents areas at its gas station locations to various tenants, such as restaurants, cafes and shops.  Paz also sells fuel and oil products directly to companies and airlines. In the past year, Paz has received non-binding offers to buy the oil refinery, which has led to large losses in recent years, but the offers were significantly below the $ 1 million value the company was aiming for, and apparently even lower than book value. of the oil refinery. In the last few months, Paz, which has a market value of 3.8 billion. NIS and no controlling shareholder, have been in a process of being sold or merged. Last week, Yosef and Shlomo Amir, controlling shareholders in the retail chain Freshmarket (TASE: FRSM), made a merger offer that would make the Amir brothers the controlling shareholders in Paz. Under the proposal, Freshmarket would be merged into Paz and its shareholders would receive 36% of the shares in Paz. In addition, the shareholders of Freshmarket will have the right to purchase 9% of the shares in Paz (fully diluted after the merger) at a price to be agreed between the parties, but not higher than the price of the merger. Freshmarket has a market value of NIS 1.8 million. The merger would create a company of 5.6 billion. NIS.

Freshmarket made its offer one day after Shikun & Binui Holdings Ltd. (TASE: SKBN) made an offer to merge between Paz and its subsidiary Shikun & Binui Energy in return for 48% of the shares in Paz (after the merger). This offer estimates the merged company at DKK 7.3 billion. NIS and Shikun & Binui Energy themselves to 3.55 billion.

By da.globes.co.il