Maccabi Tel Aviv Sponsor Shtilman Offers $120 Million to Buy Recanati Family's Club Shares

Erik Shtilman, founder and CEO of fintech company Rapid and the main sponsor of Maccabi Tel Aviv, has submitted a new offer to the Recanati family to purchase their entire 58 percent stake in the club. The proposal, presented to Udi and Shai Recanati, values the shares at $120 million, up from Shtilman's previous offer of $100 million about a week and a half ago. This latest offer also exceeds the valuation of a prior transaction in which the Recanati family acquired 29 percent of the shares from the Federman family, held through Fedenco Sport, for $50 million.

The offer comes amid the Recanati family's ongoing efforts to sell half of their holdings, specifically 29 percent, to Jewish-American businessman Jason Levine. Levine, 52, is a sports executive and investor with experience in managing basketball and football teams, including serving as CEO of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. This deal could be finalized as soon as this week.

The 29 percent stake offered to Levine was originally held by the Federman family and later acquired by the Recanati family after exercising their right of first refusal, which prevented Shtilman from becoming a new owner at that time. Now, the other shareholders have 30 days to decide whether to exercise their right of first refusal to purchase the 29 percent stake themselves.

Besides the Recanati family, the club's shareholders include Shimon Mizrahi with 14.5 percent, Richard Deitsch with 17.5 percent, and Ben Ashkenazi holding 10 percent.