Altshuler Shaham Sells Majority Stake in Pension and Provident Fund Operations

Altshuler Shaham, a major Israeli investment house, has announced the sale of a controlling stake in its provident and pension fund operations. Digital insurance company WeSure will acquire 45% of the business for approximately 820 million shekels, while Yair Levinstein, the current CEO of Altshuler Shaham, will purchase an additional 10% for about 180 million shekels, increasing his total stake to 25%.

Together, WeSure and Levinstein will hold about 70% of the operations. The deal is expected to yield approximately 1 billion shekels for the founders, Gilad Altshuler and Kalman Shaham, and the Shaham family. This transaction values the provident and pension fund operations at a higher figure than the company's current market value, leading to a significant surge in its stock price during trading.

Despite this sale, Altshuler Shaham will continue to manage its private operations, which include mutual funds totaling around 20 billion shekels, investment portfolios, hedge funds, brokerage services, digital currencies, and executive compensation services. The estimated value of these remaining private operations is between 400 and 450 million shekels.

Altshuler Shaham was once the dominant force in Israel's pension and provident fund market, managing 215 billion shekels, or 32% of the market, in 2021. However, the firm has since lost considerable ground due to relatively weak returns, particularly from investments in China and other international markets, which underperformed when the local market was strong. This decline is reflected in the company's market value, which has fallen from a peak of 4.5 billion shekels to about 1.5 billion shekels today, despite a recent 70% stock increase over the past three years.