Altshuler Shaham Controlling Shareholders Explore Sale of Investment House
Controlling shareholders Gilad Altshuler and Kalman Shaham are exploring the sale of their stake in Altshuler Shaham Finance. The deal could reach 1 billion NIS, as the investment house manages 112 billion NIS and trades at a valuation of 1.4 billion NIS.
The controlling shareholders of the publicly traded investment house Altshuler Shaham Finance, Gilad Altshuler and Kalman Shaham, are exploring the sale of their controlling stake. According to information obtained by Calcalist, this evaluation is taking place following inquiries they received from various entities interested in acquiring control of the investment house. Altshuler Shaham Finance is 55.4% owned by Altshuler Ltd., which is held by Gilad Altshuler (43.4%) and the Shaham family (44.12%), consisting of Kalman Shaham, his wife Ilana, and their three children, Ran, Lior, and Asaf. Yair Loewenstein, who manages the public provident fund company, holds 14.8% of Altshuler Shaham Finance, with the remaining shares held by the public (29.7%). The company manages 112 billion NIS and is traded at a valuation of 1.4 billion NIS. Ran Shaham serves as the company's chairman.
Financial Scope and Valuation
Additional shareholders include Daniel Benin-Bar, holding 4.9% of the shares, as well as Galia Bar-Vilf, children of Shlomo Bar, the controlling shareholder of STG, which imports electronic components and equipment and is traded in Tel Aviv. A transaction for the sale of 55.4% of the shares could reach a consideration of 1 billion NIS, given that the current market value of these shares stands at 785 million NIS. Loewenstein's shares are valued at 210 million NIS. An acquirer of Altshuler Shaham Finance would be able to introduce additional activities into the company that it is currently barred from due to conflicts of interest with the private company Altshuler Ltd., such as hedge funds, a stock exchange membership, and mutual funds.
Management Reorganization and Background
Several weeks ago, Calcalist submitted an inquiry to the Altshuler Shaham spokesperson regarding the sale review, and the spokesperson claimed that such an evaluation was not on the agenda. However, it is known that Altshuler himself received inquiries and did not rule out the possibility of a sale. About a month ago, Gilad Altshuler told Calcalist that he had reduced his involvement in the day-to-day management of Altshuler Shaham, relinquishing numerous authorities in order to decentralize the decision-making process within the organization. According to him, a managerial reorganization has been carried out at the investment house over the past two years. Altshuler's withdrawal from the forefront was reportedly the result of a decision he formulated to sell control, and his partners are expected to join the sale.
«A transaction for the sale of the controlling stake in Altshuler Shaham Finance could reach a consideration of 1 billion NIS, reflecting a substantial premium over the current market valuation of 785 million NIS.»
It remains unclear whether Loewenstein will join the sale, although capital market assessments suggest that due to his relatively young age compared to Altshuler, he will not sell his holdings and will remain in his position as CEO, subject to the entity that acquires the shares. As far as is known, Altshuler is already in talks with such an entity, although the negotiations are still in their early stages. Less than a year ago, Altshuler and Shaham promoted a merger of the public activity with their private activity. As part of a major related-party transaction, they sought to sell the private activity to the public company and even commissioned valuations for this purpose. The matter did not materialize, likely due to gaps in valuation assessments.
