ISRAEL: Potential Change in Ownership of TASE Market

Thursday January 25 2018

On 21st January 2018, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) announced that it is in a process of finding a strategic investor which will lead to the Exchange coming under new ownership. After approaching its shareholders, 71.7% of TASE shareholders offered to sell their shares in TASE.

TASE is not expected to hold these shares itself and it has announced that it will take steps in the coming months to find a strategic buyer for the shares that have been offered for sale. TASE expects there to be interest from the world’s leading stock exchanges, which will significantly strengthen the Israeli stock exchange’s competitive position globally and will lead to the creation of international collaborations and attract overseas investors.

This measure fits in well with the objective of the TASE demutualization and with the Amendment of the Securities Law regarding the restructuring of the TASE and with the global trend whereby major stock exchanges hold shares in a number of small and medium-size stock exchanges, enabling them to benefit from greater exposure, cooperation and advantages of scale.

In recent months, TASE completed the process of restructuring its ownership, within the framework of which an allotment of shares to TASE members was approved.

As part of the Amendment of the Securities Law regarding the restructuring of the TASE, it is prescribed that holding of 5% or more in TASE requires a permit from the Israel Securities Authority and that the Israel Securities Authority shall not grant a permit for a holding of 5% or more to a TASE member or to a banking corporation –even if it is not TASE member. Furthermore, it is prescribed that every member is required to sell its holdings over 5% within the next five years.

For additional information click the link above