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How to lose half a billion shekels in a year and a half By Michael Rochvarger Tags: Gaydamak, Israel News Arcadi Gaydamak bought control of Ocif from Doron Aviv and his sister Dafna Harlev on the eve of Passover 2007. Gaydamak paid them NIS 600 million, giving Ocif a value of NIS 1 billion, while the company was trading on the stock market for much less. At the time, the stock market was at a high, and the severity of the world financial crisis was still unclear - to most people. Last Thursday, Gaydamak exited Ocif for only NIS 110 million, a loss of almost half a billion shekels. It is reasonable to assume that these are not his only losses, and the fate of his holdings in Willi-Food, Ameris and Gilon will be similar. Advertisement Gaydamak rejected all the criticism on the high price he paid for Ocif and never stopped making optimistic declarations, which in retrospect turned out not to have any basis in reality. "After all the examinations I conducted, I saw there was a hidden economic value in Ocif in its various projects, which when they bear fruit will bring huge profits. Ocif will become an international real estate company on the level of Africa Israel," he said after the purchase. In the months after those promises, when the euphoria surrounding Gaydamak was at its height, investors were captivated by his charms and bought Ocif shares without thinking twice. The stock rose and rose, though it was Dafna and Doron Aviv, who sold Gaydamak Ocif, who were celebrating. But when the summer of 2007 arrived and the financial markets were shocked by the credit crisis, Ocif's condition began to deteriorate. Despite the pretty penny he paid for the firm, Gaydamak never was able to find a true leader for the company. You can't say he didn't try, but Nahman Tzabar, Shlomo Rothman, Uri Shani and Yoram Keren all never got along with Gaydamak, each for his own reasons, and none ever left any lasting imprint on the company. Gaydamak made two main deals for Ocif, and neither could be called particularly successful. He bought a money-losing infrastructure company and sold Ocif land he owned in Russia. He also did not halt the stock's fall, and the feeling in the markets was that it did not matter what Gaydamak did, no one had any more faith in him. The ultimate proof of this lack of faith were the demands by Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot, which financed the Ocif purchase for Gaydamak, that he increase his guarantees - which he could not. It is possible that Gaydamak was right that Ocif was a good company with quality assets. For example, look at its recent sale of the Assuta complex in Ramat Hahayal in Tel Aviv, as well as the company's Bulgarian projects. Nevertheless, the markets don't seem to have any mercy on him. The credit investors gave him was short term, and he wasted it all. Gaydamak can no longer reap the gains at Ocif. He left that last week to his lawyer, Yossi Segev. Segev may be saying he bought Ocif not as a speculative investment but for the long term, but the burden of proof is still on Segev. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Defending against Iran U.S. deploys early-warning radar system at Israeli base to detect Iranian missiles. Chinese train in Israel Haifa stadium had been turned into mock Bird's Nest in pre-Olympics exercises.

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