Harel to buy Shirbit Insurance for a reported NIS 100 million

Harel’s parent company says in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filing that subsidiary will take over Shirbit customers at deal completion; Shirbit was subject to massive hack last year

By Shoshanna Solomon

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5 May 2021, 2:42 pm

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Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

Michel Siboni, CEO of Harel Insurance Company, at a press conference with CEOs and representatives of insurance companies, at the Finance Ministry office in Jerusalem, November 30, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israeli insurance company Harel said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shirbit Insurance Company to acquire its business activities.

In a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Harel’s parent firm, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services LTD, said that once the deal is completed, all of Shirbit’s customers will become part of Harel. The deal is subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals, the filing said.

Calcalist financial website estimated the deal at over NIS 100 million ($31 million).

Last year, hackers by the name of BlackShadow claimed responsibility for a massive attack on Shirbit, making off with a vast hoard of personal data relating to its clients, many of whom were civil servants. The hackers subsequently said they had sold a batch of information stolen from the firm.

Since that event, a number of companies bid to acquire Shirbit, Calcalist said.