not everywhere· Sports· Updated 13:45

Maccabi Haifa Owner Plans Sale After Failed Deal, Seeks $100 Million

Maccabi Haifa owner Yaakov Shahar has put the Israeli football club up for sale for approximately $100 million, seeking to sell 100% of its shares in a single transaction. The 84-year-old Shahar, who has owned the club since 1992, confirmed his intention to sell and emphasized that his priority is ensuring the club's future continuity.

11 newsrooms · 3 languages · since 10:30

Plus

Watch · 1 clip

Clips the newsrooms posted about this story. They play from YouTube, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and X.

Photos · 3

Photos the newsrooms posted about this story, and the ones the IDF and Magen David Adom released.

Official photos are free. 3 more with Plus.

What happened

01Maccabi Haifa owner Yaakov Shahar is seeking to sell 100% of the football club's shares for approximately $100 million.
02The 84-year-old Shahar has owned the club since 1992, leading it to 11 league titles and four cups.
03Investment bank Raine Group has been hired to find a buyer and has begun approaching potential investors.
04A previous attempt to sell half of the club's shares to American investors failed six months ago over valuation disagreements.
05The proposed deal structure involves a Jewish billionaire acquiring 51% and a group of tech entrepreneurs buying 49%.
06Individual tech investors in the minority group would be required to contribute between $5 million and $10 million each.
07Tom Livne is leading the tech investor group, which operates under the GreenTech forum for Maccabi Haifa fans.
08Shahar emphasized that he will only sell the club to a reliable party that can guarantee its future continuity.

Shahar and his partners, the heirs of Israel Kaz, have hired the international investment bank Raine Group to find a buyer. This renewed effort comes after a previous attempt to sell half of the club's shares to a group of American investors fell through about six months ago due to disagreements over the club's valuation, which was then based on an $80 million figure.

One proposed structure being explored by Raine Group involves a purchasing group led by a Jewish billionaire, such as Len Blavatnik, who would acquire a 51% controlling stake. A consortium of high-tech entrepreneurs and Maccabi Haifa fans, operating under the GreenTech forum, would purchase the remaining 49%, with individual investors contributing between $5 million and $10 million each.

Tom Livne, co-founder of Verbit, is leading the high-tech initiative. Other potential tech investors include Ofer Ben-Nun, Tal Slobodkin, Shimon Elkabetz, Ziv Paz, Tamir Bar-Ilan, Ami Sircus, and Guy Nitzan, while hotelier David Fattal and businessman Udi Angel have also been named as potential participants.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 11 newsrooms. Updated 13:51