Tzachi Abu Acquires 20% Stake in YBOX Real Estate Firm

Tzachi Abu, through his company Gefen Living, is acquiring a 20% stake in the real estate company YBOX for NIS 76 million, a month after withdrawing from a deal to take control of the mall giant G City. Tamir Cohen, former CEO of Shikun & Binui, is expected to join Abu in the purchase, acquiring a 5.4% stake and joining the controlling group.

Abu and Cohen will jointly purchase half of the shares held by French businessman Yaakov Gorsad, valuing YBOX at NIS 300 million, consistent with its market trading price before the deal. Gorsad, the company's founder, will see his stake decrease to approximately 28% following the transaction, with a voting agreement signed between the parties. Analysts suggest Abu plans to leverage YBOX's NIS 300 million working capital deficit to increase his stake and eventually gain control, potentially through a future rights issue in which Gorsad is not expected to participate.

Other significant YBOX shareholders include Yitzhak Tshuva and his son Elad, who hold about 14% of the shares and have expressed interest in acquiring more, as well as Fattal Holdings, which controls the Fattal hotel chain and owns 8% of YBOX. Abu and Cohen are anticipated to restructure YBOX's management, currently led by Yossi Turgeman.

Tamir Cohen, who acted as the deal's facilitator due to his close ties with Gorsad, will become a shareholder. Cohen, a prominent figure in Israel's capital markets and real estate, previously led Shikun & Binui's acquisition by Nati Saidoff and served as its chairman and CEO until his departure in 2024. Cohen is expected to finance his NIS 16.1 million share of the YBOX deal with a NIS 10.1 million loan from Gefen Living, supplemented by NIS 5.9 million in advisory fees from the same company.

YBOX becomes Abu's fourth publicly traded company, joining Ari Real Estate, Abu Real Estate Income REIT, and Gefen Living. Abu has prior dealings with YBOX, having sold them a property in Ashdod last year. This acquisition is expected to significantly expand Gefen's project portfolio, particularly in urban renewal in the Tel Aviv and Gush Dan areas. Gefen, founded by Abu in 2022, currently manages approximately 35 urban renewal projects, comprising about 6,700 housing units. YBOX, founded in 2014, focuses on urban renewal, income-generating properties, and residential real estate, with projects including around 4,790 housing units in urban renewal and 639 residential units. The company recently agreed to transfer the historic Romano House to the Tel Aviv municipality in exchange for development rights for approximately 22,000 square meters for 238 housing units and 7,000 square meters for employment in other projects.