El Al to consolidate shares and raise authorised capital

El Al is to seek shareholder approval for a share consolidation and an increase in the company’s authorised capital. El Al is to consolidate its 2.5b ordinary shares in a ratio of eight-to-one, bringing the figure down to 312.5m. The airline will reduce the nominal value of the shares to 1 shekel ($0.30). It then plans to increase the authorised capital by just over 2.187b shares. This will take its authorised capital back to 2.5b ordinary shares plus a single special government share. El Al is to convene a shareholders’ meeting on 20 July at its Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport offices to approve the plan. The issued stock of the company comprises over 1.35b shares. The airline, which has been under pressure to stabilise its finances, recently managed to meet all the conditions for a funding agreement with the Israeli government. Among the conditions was that El Al would commit to raising $105m in capital from shares or options.<br/>