Winshel Aims to Replicate Ayalon Success with Altshuler Shaham Acquisition

Emil Winshel and Nitzan Tsa'ir Harir are set to acquire a controlling stake in Altshuler Shaham Finances, aiming to replicate their successful turnaround of Ayalon Insurance. Winshel's company, Weשור GlobalTech, will purchase 45% of Altshuler Shaham for 1.8 billion shekels, valuing the company at 1.8 billion shekels and paying 820 million shekels. Yair Levinstein will increase his stake from 15% to 25% by investing 180 million shekels.

This strategic move is intended to transform Weשור from a mid-sized insurance firm into a major insurance and finance group. Winshel stated that the acquisition provides a long-term savings and finance arm to complement their existing operations, positioning them among Israel's top six insurance and finance entities. He emphasized a strategy combining organic growth with smart mergers and acquisitions.

Winshel views Altshuler Shaham's current difficulties as an opportunity, drawing parallels to the 2022 acquisition of Ayalon Insurance. At the time of its purchase for 667 million shekels, Ayalon was also considered troubled, but it has since seen its valuation soar to 5.4 billion shekels and now boasts leading industry returns on equity. Winshel believes the market is underestimating the synergy between insurance and finance under a single corporate umbrella.

A key asset in the deal is Altshuler Shaham's size, managing 109 billion shekels in provident funds and 36 billion shekels in pension funds, despite a recent market share decline. Winshel highlighted the significant advantage of this existing scale, which was lacking in Ayalon, enabling Ayalon's agents to sell Altshuler Shaham's pension and provident products. He noted that building such a large provident fund operation from scratch would require immense time and investment.

For the acquisition to succeed, Weשור must halt the outflow of funds from Altshuler Shaham. Their plan relies on leveraging Ayalon's agent network and improving investment returns to gradually resume attracting new funds. Winshel expressed confidence in a turnaround, citing recent improvements in investment yields led by Yair Levinstein, and predicts a complete shift in the company's trajectory within one to two years.