Businessman Yitzhak Tshuva, controlling shareholder of Delek Group, which holds NewMed Energy, blew up a $6.7 billion deal with private electricity producer Dalia Energies.
NewMed Energy, in cooperation with Ratio, announced again to the stock exchange that the deal was canceled, but Dalia Energies insists on its right to have the agreement fulfilled.
Tshuva's formal pretext is that regulatory approvals for the deal were not received on time. However, Dalia Energies rejects this position, stating in a notice to the stock exchange that it maintains that the deal must be executed, given that approval from the Competition Authority arrived on time and all conditions for completing the transaction were met. The company added that it intends to exhaust its legal rights regarding the fulfillment of the contract.
Dalia Energies operates natural gas-based power plants. The gas to operate the plants was supposed to be supplied starting in 2030 from the Leviathan gas field. The energy sector was surprised by Tshuva's announcement canceling the deal. According to market estimates, changes have occurred in the global gas market since the principles agreement was signed between the parties, making the transaction terms unviable under current conditions.
The Leviathan partnership completed a massive $35 billion gas export deal to Egypt through 2042 in early 2026. The deal sparked criticism, partly over concerns that gas reserves in the field would run out and the interests of Israeli entities would be harmed. It appears that Dalia Energies prefers to involve the Energy Ministry prior to initiating legal proceedings.