Gaydamak sells Zim site on Rothschild Blvd. for NIS 135m

Arcadi Gaydamak has sold the so-called "Zim complex" on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard for NIS 135 million, and yet he didn't make much money on the deal, if any at all. The Russian-Israeli tycoon had bought the land from Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot two years ago for about $26 million, which at the time was nearly NIS 120 million, and had invested another $3 million. The main figure in the buying group is none other than Doron Aviv, who sold the real estate company Ocif to Gaydamak for NIS 600 million a year ago, a deal that has cost Gaydamak dearly. Ocif closed trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange yesterday with a loss of 4%, reducing its market capitalization to $385 million. The Zim site is a 1.9-dunam plot zoned for the construction of a 21-storey tower of residences and offices with eight storeys of underground parking. At one point Gaydamak had reportedly contemplated selling the site to Ocif for somewhere between $35 million to $65 million, but he apparently dropped the idea following a public outcry, specifically from investors who suspected him of taking a ride on their backs.