Apax and Manor Evergreen Held Talks to Acquire Hatzi Hinam Chain
Apax Partners and Manor Evergreen held acquisition talks with supermarket chain Hatzi Hinam, using financial data prepared by ValueBase, amid an internal dispute involving dismissed executives.
Investment funds Apax Partners and Manor Evergreen held negotiations regarding the acquisition of the Israeli supermarket chain Hatzi Hinam, according to documents revealed during a labor dispute. The talks involved examining financial reports and strategic business presentations prepared by investment bank ValueBase.
The discussions came to light as part of disciplinary proceedings initiated by Moti Kuperly, controlling owner and CEO of Hatzi Hinam, against Orit Shalom Bag, the chain's former VP of Trade and daughter of founder Zaki Shalom. Kuperly accused Shalom Bag of approaching potential investors, including Apax and Reality Fund, without management authorization and sharing sensitive internal commercial data.
In her response, Shalom Bag confirmed holding talks with investors such as Apax and Manor Evergreen, but maintained that the process was handled professionally with the assistance of ValueBase. She emphasized that all financial data and business presentations were shared strictly under non-disclosure agreements to evaluate a potential transaction regarding company holdings.
Apax Partners currently controls Max Stock, while Manor Evergreen holds stakes in the cleaning product manufacturer Sniv and recently acquired Botanim Marketing. Hatzi Hinam operates eight branches with an estimated annual turnover of 2.5 billion shekels. The dispute follows a lawsuit filed in June by Shalom Bag and her mother, who hold a 33% stake in the company, against Kuperly and his family, alleging minority shareholder oppression and demanding the separation of the real estate and retail assets.
