Israeli Businessman Ronen Ganon Acquires Multi Retail Chains from Kedma Fund at 60% Premium
Israeli businessman Ronen Ganon, who owns 50% of the discount chain Zol Stock, is purchasing a 69.9% stake in Multi Retail from the Kedma investment fund for approximately 166 million shekels. This transaction values Multi Retail at 238 million shekels, representing a 60% premium over its Tel Aviv Stock Exchange valuation of 149 million shekels. Multi Retail operates several retail chains including Ace, Autodepo, Ace Electric, Beitili, Urban, and A.D. Design. The Ace chain includes 11 DIY stores, 7 Autodepo outlets, and 11 combined Ace-Autodepo locations. Beitili runs 16 furniture and home product stores, six franchised, while Urban operates 10 stores.
Ganon, who acquired his stake in Zol Stock in September 2025 from Yohananof, may seek to merge Zol Stock's 90 stores with Multi Retail's outlets, creating a network of 155 stores with an annual turnover of 1.7 billion shekels. Besides retail, Ganon is active in residential and commercial real estate, having developed the Nofei Bereshit neighborhood in Safed and owning the Binyamin shopping center in Beit Shean, as well as a project in Limassol, Cyprus. He also owns other retail chains including neighborhood supermarkets Shi Market, butcher shops HaKatzavim in Jerusalem, home goods stores Homes, and a winery called Eretz HaGalil.
Multi Retail showed slight revenue growth in Q1 to 174 million shekels from 165 million shekels the previous year and posted a net profit of 1.6 million shekels compared to a loss of 4.9 million shekels. The company improved its financial position by closing five unprofitable home design stores, opening four smaller-format stores, and three franchised outlets, as well as shutting down a logistics warehouse used by Ace. Kedma, managed by Gilad Halevi, Gilad Shavit, and Ori Einan, was formed from the remnants of the KCPS fund and holds stakes in several companies including Keter Plastic and Carmel Wineries. David Saban, responsible for retail operations at Ganon Group, facilitated the deal and will join Multi Retail to support its growth.
Kedma acquired Ace and Autodepo from Electra Group in 2017 for 145 million shekels plus 45 million shekels in debt coverage and has been seeking to sell since 2021. In 2022, it added Beitili and Urban, purchased for 100 million shekels from the founding Eitani family. Ace was publicly listed in January 2021, raising 150 million shekels at a 400 million shekel valuation, but suffered heavy losses, with its value dropping to 138 million shekels in 2023 after failing to meet financial covenants with two banks. Despite this, Kedma managed to recoup its investment and generate some profit through a 100 million shekel secondary share sale.
