Koor Industries has reached an agreement to sell its 50 percent stake in real-estate company Sha'ar Carmel for $20 million, The Jerusalem Post reported the company as declaring Wenesday.
According to the agreement, Koor will sell its interests in Sha'ar Carmel to foreign-owned Carmel Gate Holdings APS. The transaction will be carried out through subsidiary Koor Assets Ltd. and executed within 45 day, said the Israeli daily.
The sale is in line with Koor's strategy to divest its interests and activities in areas which are not considered central to the company's operations, the paper added.
Sha'ar Carmel owns two properties, hi-tech industrial park Sha'ar Carmel and Sha'ar Yokne'am in Yokne'am. Located at the entrance to Haifa, the 35,000 sq.m. Sha'ar Carmel park is fully rented out. Koor Assets had begun the construction of a 20,000 sq.m. addition to the industrial park, said the daily.
The second property, 35,000 sq.m. Sha'ar Yokne'am, is designated for light industry and is also fully rented. An additional 12,000 sq.m. area is currently under construction.
In May, on the heels of positive first-quarter reports where net income rose by 652%, Koor vice chairman and CEO Jonathan Kolber was quoted as saying that the holding company had experienced two painful years of reorganization. The 'new Koor,' as he called it, is one with less sales but higher operating margins.
According to the report, part of the company's new focus is investment in hi-tech start ups. Koor has committed about $100m for investments in young hi-tech companies and venture-capital firms and plans to invest another $100m in the coming year.
In Tel Aviv Wednesday, Koor's shares rose 2.7% to NIS 406 from Tuesday's closing price of NIS 395.30, said the daily – Albawaba.com
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