Investor seeks joint control of El Al with main shareholder Knafaim

El Al has received an offer from an investor to inject $51m into the struggling airline in return for 190m shares. It has been formally put to the board by entrepreneur David Sapir, who is active in the tourism business and believes there are opportunities for El Al to benefit from the synergies. The offer covers 190 million shares at $0.268 per share. El Al’s issued capital comprises 495.7m shares which indicates that Sapir is seeking the same sized stake as Knafaim Holdings, El Al’s primary shareholder, which has 38.3% of the airline. According to a 1 September communication from Sapir’s legal representative, the offer is conditioned upon a joint control agreement with Knafaim. The communication points out that Sapir holds Israeli citizenship and has been involved in infrastructure, tourism and other businesses for over 30 years in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Latin America. It says Sapir has drawn up a business plan, which he believes will yield a return to the airline not only in its existing activities but in others where the company is not present.<br/>