The Kravitz office supply and stationery chain has joined Keter Publishing in talks to buy the Steimatzky bookstore chain, with each taking a 50% stake in Israel's largest bookseller, Haaretz reported. Steimatzky's owner, Markstone Capital Group, announced this week it had reached an agreement in principle to sell the chain to Arledan Investments, Keter's parent company, subject to due diligence and antitrust approval.
The Jerusalem Post noted that the "fate of the financially fraught book retailer, which alongside its fiercest competitor Tzomet Sfarim controls the vast majority of the country's book market, has been in question in recent weeks." Arledan CEO Tzali Reshef called the acquisition "a strategic step," and said he "believes in Steimatzky and its employees, and will continue to develop the chain."
