JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday that an agreement was signed for the sale of the state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI) to Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems.
The deal was worth of 1.8 billion new shekels (about 481 million U.S. dollars).
The decision to privatize IMI was made by the government in 2013. After two years, at the end of a competitive process for the sale of the company, Elbit remained the only candidate.
According to the negotiations, 1.4 billion new shekels (375 million dollars) would be paid on the signing date and the remaining will be paid in 2020 and 2022.
IMI was founded in 1933 and headquartered in the city of Ramat Hasharon in the center of Israel. It manufactures weapons, munitions and military technology, mainly for Israel Defense Forces.
Elbit Systems was founded in 1966 and located in the northern city of Haifa. It operates in areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, intelligence surveillance and so on.
The IMI compounds in the center and north of Israel will be cleared and tens of thousands of housing units will be built.
In another IMI compound in southern Israel's Negev Desert, new factories will be established to promote employment and development in the area.
"The sale will facilitate the advancement of the Israeli defense industry, leverage Israel's technological capabilities and increase defense exports," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said that "this is an important day for the defense industries in Israel. Its citizens will benefit from this move in the coming years."
