Altshuler Shaham Brand to Disappear Following Major Acquisition

The sale of Altshuler Shaham Finances, a major Israeli financial services firm, to a group including the insurance company Weshure and current CEO Yair Levinstein, is set to proceed, raising questions about the future of the brand and its employees. The public company, which manages approximately 109 billion shekels in provident funds and 37 billion shekels in pension funds, along with alternative investments and credit, will be sold. Current CEO Yair Levinstein will continue to lead this entity.

Following regulatory approval, the "Altshuler Shaham" brand name is expected to be retired, though a new name has not yet been decided. Meanwhile, the private company, which handles mutual funds, portfolio management, trading, virtual currencies, and currency exchange, will remain under the ownership of founders Gilad Altshuler and Kalman Shaham. This private entity has around 300 employees.

Despite speculation, there will be no merger between the acquired public company and Ayalon, Weshure's insurance arm, which is entering the provident fund market. Instead, they will operate as sister companies, a move seen as an effort to appease regulators. The provident and pension fund operations, along with their staff, will transfer to the new company, led by Lea Perminger. The investment system is expected to remain independent for now.

Market sources indicate no plans for workforce reductions; rather, the goal is growth and expansion. The acquisition aims to offer Altshuler Shaham's 2 million clients a broader range of services, including products previously exclusive to the private company like brokerage, independent trading, and mutual funds, as well as alternative investments and potentially banking services. Collaboration with Weshure will also expose clients to insurance products.

This deal follows a failed attempt last year to merge the private company into the public one. Consequently, Levinstein decided to acquire the founders' stake. Altshuler and the Shaham family will now focus on developing their private operations, excluding provident and pension fund management.