Apax says stake in foodmaker Tnuva not for sale

TEL AVIV, July 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apax Partners [APAX.UL] said its 56 percent stake in Tnuva was not for sale, in response to an offer from Mivtach Shamir Holdings (MISH.TA), its partner in Israel's largest food company.

"Apax Partners appreciates its partner's approach, but decided not to further explore the opportunity since Tnuva is not being offered for sale," Apax said on Wednesday

Apax said Mivtach Shamir had made a written approach after having verbal approaches rejected. Apax also said it continued to examine additional investments in Israel.

It and Mivtach Shamir acquired control of Tnuva in 2008, with Mivtach Shamir holding 20.7 percent. The deal valued the company at $989 million.

Tnuva was founded in 1929 when 620 agricultural settlements formed a cooperative, mainly to market fresh milk. The agricultural settlements still hold 23.3 percent of Tnuva.

In April, Apax and two other partners sold their 30.4 percent stake in Bezeq Israel Telecom (BEZQ.TA), Israel's largest telecom group, to B Communications (BCOM.O) (BCOM.TA) for $1.75 billion. (Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Dan Lalor)