Haredi Businessman Ronen Ganon Acquires Control of Multi Retail Group for NIS 173 Million

Ronen Ganon, a Haredi entrepreneur and head of the Ganon Group, has signed an agreement to acquire control of Multi Retail Group, a public company owned by the Kedma Fund, for NIS 173 million. The deal values the company at approximately NIS 238 million and is subject to approval by the Israeli Antitrust Authority. Ganon purchased 70% of the company's shares plus an additional 2.3% held by CEO Itzik Ohana, giving the Ganon Group a 72.3% stake, while the remaining 27.7% remains publicly held.

Multi Retail Group owns several leading retail brands in Israel, including ACE, Autodepo, Beitili, and Urban, with a broad national presence and significant online operations. Over the past 12 months, the company reported profits of NIS 12 million and is on a positive growth trajectory. For Ganon, who currently holds 50% of the discount chain Zol Stock alongside partners Adir Venuno and Sahar Kochavi, this acquisition marks a strategic expansion into a public retail platform with established brands, a large customer base, and strong trade, digital, and logistics infrastructure.

Ganon intends to leverage his experience in retail growth, procurement, import, logistics, and inventory management gained from Zol Stock to enhance Multi Retail's operations. Post-acquisition plans include increasing direct imports, improving trade terms, strengthening online and data capabilities, optimizing inventory management, and capitalizing on the group's scale and distribution. There is also consideration of a future merger between Multi Retail and Zol Stock, which could create a large retail group with combined revenues of about NIS 1.7 billion and approximately 155 stores nationwide.

David Saban, responsible for retail enhancement within the Ganon Group, played a key role in facilitating the deal and will join Multi Retail's operations after the transaction to support growth initiatives. Ganon stated, "This deal is a starting point. Multi Retail brings strong, well-known brands and a significant platform with great potential. Together with my partners, we aim to build a more efficient, growing, and competitive operation that offers better value to Israeli consumers. We will also explore opportunities to connect our activities and create additional value after completing the acquisition."