Israel

Meir Gurvitz Quits El Al Race

Tuesday, September 15, 2020 9:48 am | < 1 Minute Read

By C. Isaacs

Employees of El Al Airlines take part in a protest asking for a recovery plan for the cash-strapped airline that has been grounded due to COVID-19, near the Finance Ministry in Yerushalayim in May. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Gurvitz said he was ending his bid because of the Finance Ministry ‘s refusal to let El Al make a private placement.

Out of the game, businessman Meir Gurvitz has announced that he will not be seeking to control El Al Airlines. “In the circumstances that have arisen, and in the light of the opposition of the Ministry of Finance to a private placement, I have no intention of entering into a deal for the purchase of control of airline El Al,” Gurvitz said in a statement.

El Al is due to make a $150 million public equity offering this Thursday, and a public prospectus will be released on Tuesday. After the offering, the state is committed to giving El Al a 75% guarantee for a loan of $250 million.

It is unknown whether David Sapir, another bidder for El Al, will continue after it has become clear that El Al will not be able to make a private placement as he sought. The other bidder is Eli Rozenberg.

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