Israel Plans IPO of Postal Company Ahead of Full Selloff

(Bloomberg) -- The Israeli government has revamped its plan to privatize the Israel Postal Co. and is seeking to hold an initial share offering of a 40% stake on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as a first step to selling all of its holdings.

The remaining shares will be sold either through a private sale, a share offering to the public, or a combination, the Communications Ministry said in a text message late Wednesday. 

Israel had announced in 2018 that it would seek a strategic investor to buy a 20% stake and later offer an additional 20% to the public on the stock exchange, with the government retaining a 60% share.

The Communications Ministry has now abandoned this plan, saying that as long as the state remains in control of the postal company, it must inject hundreds of millions of shekels every few years to regulate the company’s activities. 

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