Israel’s Securities Authority prevented real estate company Abu-Gad from publishing a valuation that would have priced its subsidiary, Abu-Gad Kinneret, at hundreds of millions of shekels. The finding appears in a recent Securities Authority report on flaws in real estate and business valuations, which did not name the company directly, though Calcalist identified it as Abu-Gad.
In early 2023, Abu-Gad said it had reached an agreement with landowners near Tiberias to advance a project including hundreds of hotel rooms, an events hall, retail space and about 400 luxury apartments. To help finance it, the company considered listing Abu-Gad Kinneret, which holds the project, at 100 million to 200 million shekels. A valuation attached to a draft prospectus put the subsidiary’s worth at more than 200 million shekels.
The regulator sharply criticized that valuation. It said that at the time of the prospectus there was no approved zoning plan for the site, the company was still advancing the plan with planning authorities, and actual spending had amounted to only a few million shekels. The authority concluded that the valuation relied on assumptions that did not fit the project’s location, business environment or expected activity. It also said claims that the planned commercial center would become a regional retail anchor and tourist hub lacked sufficient factual basis.
The report further said the hotel revenue forecast was benchmarked against luxury hotels of long-established national chains without showing a relevant economic or business basis for comparison. Projections for the theater and baths components were also said to rest on general statements, though the company said they were developed after oral advice from industry sources. Abu-Gad Kinneret was not required to include a valuation in the prospectus, but once it did, the authority said it could not be treated as a reliable basis for the public. After the regulator’s comments, Abu-Gad removed the valuation and replaced it with a business plan based on factual data in the prospectus published in August 2025. Soon after, it shelved the plan amid a dispute with its partners, led by former Tiberias mayor Oved Zohar, who later sued the company for 20.5 million shekels and sought to advance the project without Abu-Gad’s involvement.
