Gaydamak fires back at critics: I offered Ocif the Zim sites at cost

Ocif Investment & Development (TASE: OCIF) is examining the acquisition of various properties from its very-new controlling shareholder, Russian-Israeli businessman Arcadi Gaydamak. The thing is that Gaydamak seems to stand to make a handsome profit from the transactions, which triggered not a bit of criticism.

Gaydamak is not only unrepentant but spirited in his rebuttal, sent from Russia. "I offered to sell the Zim sites to Ocif at cost," he stated this morning.

On July 1 Ocif announced that it is examining the acquisition of five plots of land in central Tel Aviv, both called after the shipping company Zim. The "Zim" plots are divided between Rothschild Blvd and Lilienblum Street. None belongs to Zim, by the way: Zim belongs to The Israel Corporation (TASE: ILD) and the "Zim sites" in Tel Aviv belong to Arcadi Gaydamak, via privately-held companies that he owns. Ocif explains that it may buy all the Zim sites, or some of the Zim sites, or presumably none of the Zim sites.

Gaydamak bought the controlling interest in Ocif in early April, 2007, with the kind of speed that has come to typify the Russian-Israeli billionaire's modus operandi. He paid about NIS 580 million for 53.1% of the company's stock, in a deal that priced Ocif at NIS 1.1 billion. His price conferred a premium of 85% over Ocif's market value on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at the time of the deal.

"I would like to advise the business community in Israel that I shall always manage my businesses to the best of my understanding of what honesty and integrity are," Gaydamak added in his release today.

"Therefore, that dictates that I not try to please or curry favor with the press," he wrote, citing the names of certain leading journalists whose opinions seem to differ with his own - Sever Plotzker and Nahum Barnea.

"In the last few days I have heard that a number of reporters, who are considered to shape public opinion, cannot understand why I want to offer the lands to Ocif in exchange for $35 million in Ocif stock, lands that I had bought just eight months before for $26 million," Gaydamak went on in his statement.

"I explained that when I bought the Zim plots for $26 million, I also paid various legal costs, taxes and commissions that cost about $3 million," he wrote.

In short, he offered Ocif the land at cost - after his costs, Gaydamak explains, even though he had a valid appraisal in hand that the real properties are actually worth around $65 million.

He offered the land to Ocif so it could develop top-notch luxury office space there, Gaydamak went on. He foresees great profit for the Ocif shareholders from such development.

"Should I execute this lucrative deal, as the main shareholder in Ocif, or should I conduct myself according to the advice of the so-called 'professional opinion shapers' and withdraw my investment from Ocif?" he wrote.

	Curry favor? Not him