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Ashkenazy makes bid for Israeli insurer valuing it at $743M 

IDB Development's Elsztain forced to sell amid financial trouble

Ben Ashkenazy and Eduardo Elzstain
Ben Ashkenazy and Eduardo Elzstain

Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation made a bid for a controlling stake in Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings, the insurance and pension unit of distressed Israeli conglomerate IDB Development. The bid would value Clal at $743 million.

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Ashkenazy CEO Michael Alpert has not confirmed the bid, but IDB disclosed Thursday that it had received a non-binding offer from an unnamed source, Bloomberg reported. IDB Development, a holding company owned by Argentinian businessman Eduardo Elsztain, reportedly owes bondholders $790 million. Earlier this year, an Israeli court ordered Elsztain to sell a 55 percent stake in Clal Insurance to help pay off the debt. A potential sale to Chinese firm Macrolink Holding Company fell apart in January after Israeli regulators refused to grant the buyer an insurance license.

Midtown-based developer Ashkenazy Acquisition, founded in 1987 by Ben Ashkenazy, claims to own $7 billion in real estate, including the Barney’s retail condo at 660 Madison Avenue. [Bloomberg] – Konrad Putzier

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