Ofer group in talks on selling israel real estate assets

Sammy Ofer sells his holdings in Ofer Properties, including the control of Mizrahi Tefahot, he does not intend to bid for the controlling interest in Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI). It would appear, from a regulatory point of view, that a bid by Ofer for Bank Leumi would be problematic because of the concentration of ownership in the economy. Ofer has holdings in Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE:ORL), Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., and Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM) through its stake in Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO). Leumi itself holds 18% of Israel Corp. The Bank Leumi tender is likely to be published in November. On Tuesday, the Finance Ministry published a tender for the selection of an investment bank to advise on the sale.