Haifa, Israel -- Elbit Systems Ltd. ("Elbit Systems") announced today, further to its announcements of June 15, 2009 and September 14, 2009, that it signed an agreement to acquire all the shares of Soltam Systems Ltd. ("Soltam"), Saymar Ltd. ("Saymar") and ITL Optronics Ltd. ("ITL"), that are currently held by Mikal Ltd. ("Mikal") and its subsidiaries.
The signed agreement provides for the acquisition of Mikal's interests in the above mentioned Mikal subsidiaries, which are synergetic to Elbit Systems, rather than the acquistion of Mikal itself, as was contemplated in Elbit Systems' prior announcements.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Elbit Systems will hold, a 100% interest in Soltam and Saymar, and a 87.85% interest in ITL. The balance of ITL's shares, which are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, is held by the public. Simultaneously, Elbit Systems willl sell its existing holdings in Mikal (approximately 19%) to the other Mikal shareholders.
The consideration to be paid by Elbit Systems for the acquisition will be approximately $87 million. The consideration to be paid to Elbit Systems for its 19% holding in of Mikal's shares will be $18 million. In addition, the agreement contains a provision for possible future payments to Mikal subject to the acquired subsidiaries achieving certain business goals.
The closing of the transaction is subject to certain approvals that the parties expect to obtain in the near future.
Joseph Ackerman, Elbit Systems' President and CEO stated: "We look forward to the addition of Soltam, Saymar and ITL and their employees to the Elbit Systems family. These companies are synergetic to Elbit Systems, and their acquistion will be an important step in executing our long-term growth strategy. The combination of Elbit Systems' existing capabilities with the technologies of Soltam, Saymar and ITL in platforms, propulsion and electro-optics, will enable us to further enhance our portfolio of solutions to both the Israeli and the global defense market". |