Rumours in the Israeli press that large-format digital printer manufacturers NUR and Scitex Vision have aborted discussions about a proposed merger have been scotched by Scitex Vision.

Business magazine Globes followed up its reports from last month that the two firms were in discussion over a potential merger with claims that the discussions had broken down following the collapse of NURs share price on Sunday (14 October).

"To clear the air we clearly notified the Israeli press that there are no discussions about the merger of NUR and Scitex Vision," said Scitex Vision executive vice president sales, marketing and business development, Dov Offer.

He did reveal that the firms had held discussions about a possible merger before, but stated that there had been no recent talks.

"With two of the three major players in the market less than 50km apart in Israel its only natural that it should be discussed," Offer said. "Its not the first time there have been rumours and it wont be the last."

He added that it was possible that the firms may hold discussions in the future.

According to Offer the major shareholders of both firms do meet to discuss their options.

Scitex Vision is owned by Scitex Corporation whose major shareholders are Clal Investment and Israel Discount Bank.

NUR issued a statement to PrintWeek saying: "NUR doesnt comment on rumours and is in constant dialogue with its competitors."

Story by Barney Cox