Waze Co-Founder Assaf Rappaport Leads Bid for McDonald's Israel Franchise

Assaf Rappaport, one of the co-founders of the navigation app Waze, is reportedly the leading candidate to acquire the franchise for McDonald's operations in Israel. This potential deal marks a significant shift for Rappaport, moving from the high-tech and cyber sectors into the large-scale retail and food service industry.

Rappaport has recently expanded his business interests in Israel, investing in Channel 13 alongside Yinon Costika. Together, they committed $120 million to the media outlet, with Merit Partners later approved to take control of the channel. The McDonald's franchise, however, represents a vastly different undertaking, involving extensive retail operations, hundreds of branches, thousands of employees, logistics, commercial real estate, marketing, and daily management.

As of the end of 2025, McDonald's Israel operated 235 branches, with annual sales estimated at approximately 1.7 billion shekels. The franchise's valuation in recent months has ranged between $200 million and $300 million. McDonald's global corporation is seeking to return to a local franchisee model after purchasing the Israeli operations from Aloniel, which had managed the chain for over three decades under Omri Padan. Aloniel operated 225 restaurants and employed over 5,000 people at the time of the sale in April 2024, with the deal valued at over 2.5 billion shekels.

McDonald's entered Israel in 1993, and the chain has since become one of the country's largest fast-food operations. If the deal with Rappaport is finalized, it would represent a substantial ongoing business for his group, distinct from his technology and communication investments. The franchisee would be responsible for significant operational costs, including labor, raw materials, rent, expansion, and maintaining brand standards, in addition to royalty and other payments to McDonald's global headquarters.