Globes exclusive: Israir on its way to acquiring control of Arkia

Globes reveals that Israir, owned by Rami Levy, is taking steps to acquire control of Arkia from the Nakash family, against the backdrop of heavy losses and a labor dispute at Arkia.

Globes reveals that Israir, owned by Rami Levy and managed by Uri Sirkis, is taking steps to acquire control of rival airline Arkia from the Nakash family. The background to the deal is Arkia's heavy losses: according to estimates, it lost about $30 million in the first three quarters of the year and is expected to end the full year with a loss of $50 to $60 million. In addition, Arkia is suffering from a dispute between its employees, who hold 20% of its shares, and the Nakash family, which holds 89%. Employees even demonstrated yesterday outside the company's headquarters. Acquiring Arkia would give Israir its flight slots to the East, Europe, and the United States, as well as personnel and operational synergy, and would remove a major competitor from the market. Arkia is the third-largest airline at Ben Gurion Airport with 1.44 million passengers (about 10% market share), and Israir is second with 1.56 million passengers (11.7%). It is unclear whether the deal will be approved by the Competition Authority.