Shikun & Binui CEO quits, moves to buy control

In a dramatic development in the Israeli infrastructure and real estate company Shikon and Benoy (TASE: SKBN) CEO Tamer Cohen resigned after being forced to do so by controlling shareholder Nati Sedoff. The company’s board is now meeting to discuss the matter. Cohen plans to form a consortium of investors to try to gain control of the company.

Today’s events take place after Sedov appointed himself a member of the Board of Directors last week as a first step before becoming president of the company, with the aim of participating more in the daily management of the company and enhancing his influence.

In his resignation letter, Cohen wrote that he had decided to leave, “after six years of activity, during which we immeasurably improved the company’s financial position, promoted numerous projects, and acquired important business activities for the company.”

He added, “Special circumstances have recently arisen that make me feel that I have the ability, in conjunction with other investors, to purchase some or all of the controlling shares in the company, which I believe could grow significantly. At the same time, the fact that the controlling owner has decided “Being more involved in the management of the company led me to conclude that it would be right and appropriate at this stage for me to move forward with this matter, while I am outside the company.”

Shikun & Binui’s stock price has fallen 65% from its record high in May 2021. The company has taken on debt for various projects, including the purchase of a huge plot of land in Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov to build long-term rental housing.

Nati Saidoff, the controlling shareholder of Shikun and Binui, who took control from Shari Arison in June 2018, has made harsh comments in the media recently about the decision to bid for Sde Dov and other matters. The stock’s performance, which has continued to decline due to the company’s massive leverage that is gradually suffocating it as interest rates rise, was among the reasons Saidoff pushed for change and pushed Cohen out of the company.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on June 30, 2024.

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