Electra reported that it's initiating raising funds of NIS 200 million, about half from banks and half from its shareholders, to convert 40-50 branches of the Yeynot Bitan subsidiary to be branches of Carrefour, managed locally by Uri Kilstein.
The company stated that its investment plan was outlined in the recently published third-quarter financial statements and it's now sharing more details. Yeynot Bitan has started importing chocolate and other products to compete with traditional Israeli brands like Elite.At this stage, the final financing conditions haven't yet been agreed upon with the banks, and Yeynot Bitan is negotiating with them. It was also reported that within this framework, Electra will invest NIS 40 million in the equity capital of Yeynot Bitan from its own sources and according to its relative share of 35.5%.
The amount of Electra's final investment will be determined by the participation rate of other shareholders in Yeynot Bitan including Phoenix Group which owns 15% of its shares, Nahum Beitan, the company founder who owns 36% of shares, and the banks issuing credit which include Hapoalim and Mizrahi Tefahot (10%).