El Al Offering Hits Target, Loan Expected by Pesach

There was good news from El Al Airlines on Wednesday, as the company succeeded in raising the $75 million required to secure $300 million in state-guaranteed loans crucial to its survival, Globes reported on Wednesday.

El Al chairman David Brodet said, “We were pleasantly surprised and fully achieved our target.”

The target was to raise $75 million. In the event, it raised $77 million by issuing 1.25 billion options to the public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The options given can be exercised at a price of NIS 0.30 per share, so that full exercise of the options would increase the capital raised by an additional amount of NIS 375 million ($116 million).

Controlling shareholder Eli Rozenberg was committed to buy at least $50 million of the options and the airline said that he fulfilled his commitment.

El Al’s CEO Avigal Sorek also committed to take part in the offering, he told investors in a zoom call, for an amount equal to his salary for the next six months.

Brodet said that El Al is in talks with Israel Discount Bank and other financial institutions and he expects the loan to be received by Pesach.