Dan Acquires Troubled Bus Company Tanufa for $40 Million

Bus company Tanufa, which has faced severe complaints for months, is officially being acquired by Dan. The deal, valued at approximately NIS 150 million (about $40 million), was announced to the National Public Transport Authority this week. While the controlling shareholder of Tanufa has signed off, internal disagreements among Tanufa's partners regarding the distribution of funds remain, though they do not currently threaten the deal itself.

Tanufa operates public transportation in the Jerusalem corridor and the Samaria region. However, it received the lowest service quality score among all operators in the Ministry of Transport's semi-annual control report for the second half of 2025, scoring 55.81. By the end of 2025, the company had incurred fines totaling around NIS 78 million. In response to the poor service, the Director General of the National Public Transport Authority, Idan Mualem, had previously demanded an examination of Tanufa's service levels and potential license revocation, though legal counsel advised exhausting preliminary steps first.

Mualem had set a deadline of October 18 for Tanufa to submit a service improvement plan, warning that failure to do so could result in sanctions such as transferring routes to other operators, revoking operating licenses, or imposing financial penalties. The deadline passed earlier this week, coinciding with discussions about Tanufa's potential sale as a way to resolve the issues and alleviate the Ministry of Transport's concerns.

Previously, Metropolitan was reportedly close to acquiring Tanufa, but Dan ultimately secured the deal. Yitzhak Lampert of the "Transportation on Our Way" organization noted that Tanufa itself has little intrinsic value, with half its fleet belonging to the Chinese brand Wisdom, which lacks regular service in Israel. He suggested that only companies with significant import and garage infrastructure, like Superbus, Dan, or possibly Afikim, could benefit from such an acquisition. Lampert also pointed out that many of Tanufa's 462 registered vehicles are out of service, and the company faces significant future costs to replace its aging bus fleet to meet tender requirements.

The National Public Transport Authority intends to require Dan to purchase at least 100 new buses as part of the deal, meaning the new owner will inherit a company needing significant rehabilitation alongside its existing tender obligations. Dan will take over Tanufa's routes, buses, and drivers, many of whom had previously threatened a strike over poor maintenance and wage uncertainty. This acquisition follows Dan's own recent financial restructuring, where a group of investors led by CEO Ofir Karni agreed to purchase approximately 50% of the company.