The market value of Nochi Dankner's IDB Group hit a new low yesterday as the share in IDB Holdings - the holding company that sits at the top of his pyramid - dropped as much as 7.8% in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange trading.
The market capitalization of IDB Holdings fell to as little as NIS 556 million during the day - the first time it has ever dropped below NIS 600 million.
But by 3 P.M. the share price began to turn higher and closed up about 3%, lifting IDB's market cap just above the NIS 600 million mark again by close.
Dankner controls 46% of IDB Holdings through his closely held investment vehicle, Ganden Holdings. Ganden's IDB shares are now worth some NIS 285 million, against loans outstanding to Bank Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot of about NIS 600 million.
As of April, Ganden had pledged 38% of its IDB holding as collateral for the loans. The current level is unknown, but the fact is that the value of Ganden's entire IDB holding is worth only half the value of the debt.
In the first quarter Leumi wrote down more than NIS 22 million of the Ganden debt.
