Unassuming Investors Poised to Acquire Arkia Airline

A group of investors, not widely recognized in the aviation sector, has surprised the market with their bid to acquire the airline Arkia. While lacking direct airline experience, the quartet of potential buyers is known for its track record in turning around struggling companies.

Leading the group is businessman Yariv Lerner, who recently finalized the sale of the mobile company Wecom for NIS 265 million, a significant profit from his acquisition five years prior when the company was in debt. Lerner also led the recovery of Negev Ceramics, a home products importer, which returned to the stock exchange in July after a successful debt offering and demonstrated consistent growth and profitability. Additionally, Lerner has been instrumental in integrating his investment house, Horizon Capital, into the public shell Blue Wave, a deal valuing the firm at approximately NIS 40 million.

Joining Lerner are businessmen Yaron Adib and Kidyan Dahari. In 2017, they purchased the real estate company Tanuport for NIS 160 million from the receivers of Eliezer Fishman's assets. Three years later, they acquired the shopping center company Yeshpro for NIS 800 million. In 2023, they merged these entities, with Tanuport valued at around NIS 500 million and Yeshpro at NIS 542 million. The combined company now owns 27 income-generating properties across Israel, valued at approximately NIS 3.1 billion, generating NIS 318.6 million in revenue last year. Adib and Dahari were also recently involved in a failed attempt to acquire control of the real estate company G City, an effort that businessman Chaim Katzman publicly doubted their ability to grow.

The fourth member of the group is Einav Adib-Berrer, Yaron Adib's sister. While not having a corporate turnaround history like the others, she has a history of business success. In 1994, she founded DPL, a manufacturer of "Babysitter" diapers, which was later sold in 2015 for NIS 95 million. She also co-founded the private medical center TLV Medical Center with her husband, Dr. Michael Berrer, bringing in Ayalon Insurance as a partner in 2019. Adib-Berrer also gained public recognition as an investor on the reality show "The Sharks."