Foreign
investor pays $5m for 5.6 percent of Gaon Holdings - Gaon
Holdings chairman Benny Gaon - An IPO will be held at a
company value of at least $150 million
A foreign investor will invest $5 million for a 5.6 percent
stake in B. Gaon Holdings Ltd., reflecting a company value
of $90 million.
Gaon Holdings chairman Benny Gaon said the company's
shareholders had invested $31 million in it to date, and
that the company's present value reflected a return on
investment of 300 percent, after the distribution of dividends.
"The present investment is a vote of great confidence
by investors in Gaon Holdings, its management, and performance
since the company was founded," he added.
Benny Gaon founded Gaon Holdings in July 1998. Before
the capital raising, he owned 20 percent of the company
and 25 percent of the controlling core. He said the present
private placement was a preliminary step towards an IPO
at a company value of at least $150 million. He said the
IPO was scheduled for 2007 or early 2008, "depending
on the capital market climate."
There were reports that Gaon Holdings would go public
several years ago, but nothing happened. The company has
a number of arms, including Gaon Agro Industries Ltd.
(TASE: GAT), in which Gaon Holdings owns 54 percent.
