Israel's Delek Acquires Full Control of Zappa Entertainment Group

The Commissioner of Competition, Michal Cohen, has approved Delek Israel's acquisition of Ivents' stake in Zappa, the entertainment company, according to Calcalist. The deal, which will see Delek Israel take full control of Zappa, will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, Delek will pay Ivents 20 million shekels for its 40.5% share in Zappa's clubs, increasing Delek's ownership to 81%. The remaining 19% are held by businessman Golan Einat.

In the second phase, Delek Israel will pay an additional 9 million shekels to Ivents for its 61% share in Newco, the company responsible for selling Zappa's concert tickets and managing its website and data. Upon completion, the ticket processing operations, primarily controlled by Ivents and representing Zappa's main revenue stream, will transfer to Delek Israel, and Zappa will handle its own ticket processing.

The partnership between Ivents and Delek Israel, along with Golan Einat, had deteriorated into legal disputes over company management, with mutual accusations. In early 2025, Delek Israel sued Ivents Israel, alleging that artists were leaving Zappa due to the conduct of an Ivents-appointed director. Delek also sought to prevent dilution of its stake in the ticketing company and requested the appointment of an accountant to examine the company's operations and establish a separation mechanism.

Delek claimed Ivents operated with a lack of transparency and irregularities, specifically accusing former CEO Ami Feinstein of alienating artists and appropriating Newco's management of performances and artist negotiations. Delek also alleged that Newco, which provides ticketing services to Zappa, was not transferring owed funds to Delek. Ivents denied these claims, calling the lawsuit false and stating Zappa's venues were full. They also dismissed personal allegations against Feinstein as baseless.

Both parties later withdrew their lawsuits. Despite injecting millions of shekels into Zappa, the disputes and strained relations impacted the company, which had pioneered a profitable concept of combining concert venues with food sales before the COVID-19 pandemic. The strained partnership also affected Zappa's relationships with artists, leading some to seek other venues and fostering competition from companies like Tomix, Ticketmaster, and Kupat Tel Aviv. Zappa finished 2024 with a loss of 23 million shekels and an equivalent deficit in equity.