IDB Gains to Highest Level Since May as Dankner Boosts Stake

IDB Holding Corp. (IDBH) rose to the highest level in more than two months after shareholder Nochi Dankner raised his direct stake in the company to 6.34 percent.

The shares gained 6 percent to 19.65 shekels, the highest intraday level since May 20, as of 11:37 a.m. in Tel Aviv. Discount Investment Corporation, a unit of IDB, added 14 percent to 6.367 shekels.

Dankner, the Israeli businessman who controls IDB Holding through Ganden Holdings Ltd., bought 75,569 shares yesterday at 17.89 shekels a share, IDB said in a filing to the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange today. The acquisition increased Dankner’s direct ownership to 2.93 million shares.

Dankner has been purchasing IDB shares, which plunged 69 percent in the last 12 months as investors worry the company may struggle to pay back its debt. Dankner on May 19 said he will honor all his debt to investors and isn’t considering the option of asking them to accept a so-called haircut debt arrangement.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Wainer in Tel Aviv at dwainer3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net