NEWSru IsraelEconomy19:46

Wiz Founders Nearing Deal for McDonald's Israel Franchise

Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba

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Co-founders of the cybersecurity firm Wiz, Asaf Rapaport, Inon Costica, Ami Lutwak, and Roy Reznik, are nearing a deal to acquire the McDonald's franchise in Israel. The negotiations are in their final stages, with several other groups having also vied for the franchise. McDonald's Israel has 235 locations and an estimated annual turnover of 1.7 billion shekels, with the franchise valued at $200-300 million. McDonald's Corporation took direct control of its Israeli operations in 2024 after a period of boycotts.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Wiz co-founders Asaf Rapaport, Inon Costica, Ami Lutwak, and Roy Reznik are close to acquiring the McDonald's Israel franchise.
Negotiations are in the final stages, with several other prominent business groups having also competed for the franchise.
The Israeli McDonald's franchise is valued at $200-300 million and generates an estimated annual turnover of 1.7 billion shekels.
McDonald's Corporation took direct control of its Israeli operations in 2024 after boycotts related to the Gaza war.
The Wiz founders previously sold their company to Google for $32 billion, the largest deal in Israeli high-tech history.

Asaf Rapaport and his partners from the cybersecurity firm Wiz, Inon Costica, Ami Lutwak, and Roy Reznik, are reportedly close to acquiring the franchise for McDonald's operations in Israel. Negotiations are in their final stages, though a deal has not yet been signed, according to reports from Calcalist and The Marker. Several other groups had expressed interest in the franchise, including Uri Max, owner of the Max Stock chain; Yaakov Shahar, owner of the Maccabi Haifa football club; the Horesh family, owners of Union Motors and Super-Pharm; and a group led by Ronen Nimni, owner of the Cafe Cafe chain.

McDonald's Israel operated 235 locations at the end of 2025, with an estimated annual turnover of approximately 1.7 billion shekels. The value of the Israeli franchise is estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million. The Wiz founders previously sold their company to Google for $32 billion, marking the largest deal in Israeli high-tech history, with each of the four founders receiving about $3 billion before taxes. Rapaport and Costica had also previously acquired control of Channel 13.

McDonald's Corporation took over the Israeli franchise in 2024 from Omri Padan, who had held it for over 30 years and opened the first McDonald's in Israel in 1993. The company's decision to forcibly buy back the franchise followed boycotts of McDonald's in several countries due to the war in Gaza and discounts offered by the Israeli franchisee to IDF soldiers. Since then, McDonald's Israel has been managed directly by the corporation.