Adani advent in Israel: PM Netanyahu to attend

Press Trust of India

Haifa (Israel):  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend a ceremony here on Tuesday to celebrate the successful entry of the Adani Group in Israel through its acquisition of the Haifa port, which is being seen as a “strategic purchase” and probably the biggest foreign investment in this country in any sector.

A consortium of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Israel’s Gadot Group won the tender in July last year to privatise the Port of Haifa in Israel for a staggering $1.18 billion.

It completed the process of purchase on January 11 this year, following which upgradation work has been going on in full swing at the port. The Indian partner in the consortium holds 70 per cent of the stake while its local partner has 30 per cent. Gautam Adani, the Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group, will also attend the ceremony at Haifa Port Temporary Cruise Terminal in this northern coastal city of Israel on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will also attend the ceremony here. The Israeli Gadot group is controlled by the Tene foundation and the LBH group and was founded 63 years ago. The group has extensive business in Israel, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and is leading in the fields of distribution and logistics of chemicals, oils and seeds for industry sectors and private consumption.

The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships. The spectrum of dealing with general cargo and cars is expected to grow substantially in the next few years and will receive a special weight in the focus and investments of the company, a spokesperson for the company told PTI.

The consortium offered 4.1 billion shekels ($ 1.18 billion) for the port, 55 percent more than the second highest bid, catching everyone by surprise including the Israeli government which did not anticipate such a high quote.

“This is a much higher price than the government (of Israel) had first anticipated and has a priceto-earnings ratio of 18 (roughly calculated, based on the average of the past three years). It is as if Adani is saying: Step aside, this is a strategic purchase, and for us the price is less important,” a report in daily Ha’aretz following the bidding process had said.