Israel's Competition Authority Blocks Card Company Acquisition

Israel's Competition Authority has effectively blocked the acquisition of Cal, a major credit card company, by Union Investments, part of the Horesh family's Union Harel Group. The decision comes after a year of delays and months of waiting for regulatory approval. The authority is demanding that Union Investments sell its 35% stake in the Super-Pharm retail chain to proceed with the purchase of Cal, which was valued at 4 billion shekels from Discount Bank and Bank Leumi.

Attempts at compromise with the Competition Commissioner, Michal Cohen, failed. The authority expressed concerns that Union Harel Group's acquisition of Cal, coupled with its ownership of Super-Pharm, would grant it access to vast amounts of sensitive consumer data. This is particularly concerning because Cal also issues credit cards for BE, a competing pharmacy chain owned by Super-Pharm.

"Cal is exposed to a huge database, including details of all transactions made with the debit cards it issues or operates, combined with personal and demographic information of the cardholder," stated the Competition Authority's decision. The authority fears that this concentration of data would flow to Union Harel Group, raising significant privacy and competitive issues.