Trading Suspended in Tomer Food Shares After CFO Resignation and Inventory Accounting Concerns
Trading in Tomer Food's shares was suspended on Monday following allegations raised by the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer, Avital Perlstein Cherni, who resigned just one week after her appointment and before officially starting the role. Perlstein Cherni was appointed CFO ten days ago but stepped down citing initially personal reasons. Subsequently, the company disclosed that her resignation related to concerns about the accounting treatment of inventory at its subsidiary, Tomer Import and Food Marketing.
The company announced that its board of directors has initiated an immediate investigation into the inventory handling and the potential financial implications for Tomer's 2025 financial statements, which were published on April 28. Tomer Food stated it will update the public once the findings are complete. Due to "uncertainty that could materially affect the company's securities prices," trading in the stock was halted. The suspension is expected to last until at least September 8, when the stock exchange's board will review whether to continue the suspension, pending the investigation's completion and disclosure of results.
Tomer Food, controlled 71% by Doron Kimelov, currently trades at a market value of 138 million shekels after a 13% drop in the past month. This valuation remains above the 82.2 million shekels valuation at the time of its stock exchange entry via a merger with the shell company Sifia, which was valued at 100 million shekels combined. The merger was facilitated by the law firm Mor Langerman, which received 4% of the shares. A month after the merger, Tomer Food raised 14.7 million shekels through a share issuance to hedge funds to support expansion plans, at a price of 1.22 shekels per share, compared to 1.63 shekels on the previous Friday.
Tomer Food imports and markets mainly dry food products, primarily to supermarket chains. The company reported revenues of 245 million shekels and a net profit of 4 million shekels for 2025. It carries 84 million shekels in bank debt and has equity of only 25 million shekels. The company had to reclassify loans worth 11 million shekels as short-term liabilities after failing to meet financial covenants set by banks. The outcome of the ongoing investigation and its impact on Tomer's financials will be closely watched.
