Midroog upgrades Delek bond rating, paving way for Ithaca IPO

Rating agency Midroog, of the Moody’s group, has announced that it is upgrading the 31 to 34 series secured bonds of Delek Group Ltd. (TASE:DLEKG), controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva, from Baa3 to Baa1. Delek also has 35 and 36 series bonds, which are not secured and therefore not rated.

Midroog said that raising the rating was supported by Delek Group’s outstandingly good financial positioning, which is improving. “The company’s level of leverage has improved, which is supported by a rise in the value of the company’s holdings and the consistent fall in debt presented by the group. The business environment in which the holding company operates has been supported over the past 18 months by a strong wind in the sharp rise in oil prices while demand is rising and supply is falling. The Russia-Ukraine war has been a catalyst for the sharp rise in natural gas prices.”

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Delek Group CEO Idan Wallace said, “The rise in the rating is a very important achievement for Delek Group and represents a direct result of business processes that we have completed over the past few months, ahead of the planned IPO of Ithaca, which will lead to the creation of significant additional value.”

Delek Group share price has risen 70% since the start of 2022, giving the company a market cap of NIS 8 billion.

The offering of Ithaca, Delek’s North Sea oil and gas exploration and production unit, is expected to be at a valuation in the billions of dollars, and to generate high capital gains for Delek Group, but chiefly it will improve its liquidity.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 12, 2022.

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