The sale of Cal is nearing a final decision, with Israel’s antitrust commissioner, Attorney Michal Cohen, expected to issue her ruling in the coming days on whether Union Group, owned by the Horesh family, and Harel Investments can buy the credit card company from Bank Discount, which holds 72%, and First International Bank, which holds 28%. Discount announced the planned sale on September 19 last year, valuing Cal at up to 4 billion shekels, including some milestone payments, but the deal has remained stuck awaiting regulatory approval.
The main competition concern is the relationship between Cal and major consumer brands. Cal currently operates the Shufersal club card program, which began in January 2018 and, after an extension in 2022, runs through the end of 2030. Shufersal said the program issued 595,000 credit cards, and 15% of its sales last year came through that card. Shufersal’s broader loyalty club has more than 2 million members. Regulators are also focused on Be, the pharmacy chain owned by Shufersal, while Union holds 35% of Super-Pharm, raising fears that the buyers could gain extensive data on Israelis’ pharmacy spending habits.
Discount’s first-quarter report revealed that on February 25 Cohen said the merger raised competitive questions and that she needed more time to examine its effects, extending her decision deadline to the end of March 2026 under her statutory authority. The parties then agreed to further extensions, first to May 28 and then to June 18. Discount may extend the agreement by another three months, but the final deadline for closing the deal is early November. If the transaction collapses because approvals are not secured, the buyers must pay Discount a fixed compensation.
The biggest unexpected winners may be Shufersal’s controlling shareholders, Yossi and Shlomi Amir. The article notes that in February 2024, before they took over Shufersal, Phoenix had discussed buying 20% of Shufersal Finance, which effectively holds the loyalty club, at a valuation of 750 million to 1 billion shekels. Since then, Isracard bought El Al’s Fly Card club at a reported valuation of about 1 billion shekels over a decade of benefits, and analysts now think Shufersal could press for a better arrangement or find a new partner. That would support the view that Cal’s new owners may be forced to divest the Shufersal club, potentially with compensation from the buyers, who could be Isracard or Max. Discount, the antitrust authority, and Cal declined to comment.
