Meitav Investment Firm Acquires Peninsula, Leading to Its Delisting from Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Meitav Investment House has successfully completed its tender offer to acquire additional shares of Peninsula Credit Company, resulting in Peninsula's planned delisting from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange after five years of trading. Earlier this month, Meitav, which already owned 88% of Peninsula's shares, launched a second tender offer aiming to increase its stake to at least 95%, enabling a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares and subsequent delisting. Meitav offered to exchange each Peninsula share for 0.0385 Meitav shares, reflecting a 10% premium over Peninsula's closing price before the offer announcement. Shareholders holding 7.2% of Peninsula's shares accepted the offer, pushing Meitav's ownership to the 95% threshold required for compulsory acquisition. Despite the delisting, Peninsula will remain a reporting company due to its outstanding bond series. Meitav is Israel's largest investment house by assets under management. This move mirrors a similar strategy by competitor Phoenix Investment House, which previously delisted Gamma Credit and consolidated its credit activities under that brand. Meitav is expected to similarly consolidate its credit operations, including "Meitav Financing" and the Lotus Fund, which focus on business financing. Over the past year, Peninsula's stock rose 4%, lagging behind the 33% surge of the TA Finance Index in which it is included. Prior to delisting, Peninsula's market capitalization stood at nearly 800 million shekels.