The competition commissioner, Michal Halperin, approved the merger between "Altshuler-Shaham" and "Psagot"

The competition commissioner, Michal Halperin, approved the merger between Altshuler Shaham and Psagot, two investment houses, which operate, among other things, in the pension, provident and continuing education markets. Alongside the merging companies, there are a number of other investment houses and insurance companies in the field, the largest of which are Menora Mivtachim, Harel, Migdal, Clal and Phoenix.
Authority inquiries have revealed that the merger is not likely to hurt competition in these areas. Following the merger, the value of the assets managed by Altshuler Shaham is expected to approach that managed by the five major insurance companies operating in these areas.
This is one of the largest mergers made in the capital market in recent years. As part of the merger, Apax, which is managed in Israel by Zehavit Cohen, will sell Psagot for NIS 910 million. Although as part of the transaction, Altshuler Shaham's provident and public pension arm will acquire the entire Psagot, Altshuler Shaham will retain only Psagot's provident and pension activity, which manages assets worth NIS 56 billion. Mutual fund assets, investment portfolio management and TASE member activity will be sold to other entities.
The deal must now be approved by the Capital Market Authority, headed by Moshe Barkat. The Authority will examine whether Altshuler Shaham and Psagot have exceeded the maximum holding rate in long-term savings assets, which is set at 15% of the total assets in this market. Accordingly, Altshuler Shaham may have to sell provident and pension assets, mainly from funds hosted by it, in the amount of NIS 8-6 billion within a year.
Altshuler Shaham will price Psagot's provident and pension activities for NIS 600 million, while the rest of the activities will be priced at NIS 300 million. Despite this, the bids received for the other activities are in higher amounts. This means that Apax and Altshuler Shaham will divide the excess consideration between them - in accordance with the mechanism established between them.
Altshuler Shaham responded: "We are pleased with the professional work and approval received from the regulators, who see us as a good home for Psagot colleagues. Altshuler Shaham is a long-standing and leading investment house, operating for over 30 years in the market and the leading provident and pension company in Israel.
"We will continue to focus on the main and most important endeavor: managing our clients' finances with uncompromising professionalism, responsibility and transparency, as we have done to date. In addition, we operate according to an orderly work plan that includes both the professional and human aspects."