Court Halts Share Transfers in European Real Estate Firm Amid Partner Dispute
A Tel Aviv District Court has prohibited any transactions involving shares in a joint real estate company owned by entrepreneurs Ari Steimatzky and Avihai Efrat, due to an ongoing legal dispute between them. Judge Hagai Brenner formalized agreements reached by the parties, which included an order preventing changes in ownership.
Efrat sued Steimatzky and the company "Amos and Daughters Investments and Properties," alleging Steimatzky dispossessed him of his assets within their shared venture. Efrat, represented by lawyers from Gornitzky & Co., seeks to reverse the share transfer initiated by Steimatzky, who is represented by S. Horowitz & Co.
The lawsuit revealed a significant breakdown in a partnership that had lasted approximately 16 years. In this partnership, Steimatzky held an 85% stake, while Efrat, who managed the on-the-ground development projects, held 15%. The joint company focused on initiating, constructing, and managing residential real estate projects in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, executed through local subsidiaries.
Despite the ownership dispute, the court ruled that the marketing of apartments in the company's Prague and Slovakian projects will continue, and the apartments themselves will not be encumbered. The judge also ordered the distribution of remaining company surplus funds, allocating 5.55 million euros to Steimatzky and 450,000 euros to Efrat.
