Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners sells $343 million Phoenix stake after fivefold return
The U.S. investment fund remains the largest shareholder in Israel’s biggest institutional investor after turning a $305 million investment into a gain of more than $1 billion in less than two years.
The American investment fund Affinity Partners, led by Jared Kushner, sold a 2.45% stake in Phoenix Financial last night for approximately NIS 1.05 billion ($343 million).
The shares were sold to three large international institutional investors, including some of the world’s largest asset managers. One of the buyers was already a shareholder in Phoenix. The transaction was led by investment bank Jefferies, which was hired by Affinity.
Affinity, which was Phoenix’s largest shareholder with a 9.87% stake, will reduce its holding to approximately 7.4% following the sale. Its remaining stake is worth approximately NIS 3.3 billion ($1.08 billion), allowing it to remain the company’s largest shareholder.
According to the fund’s announcement, Affinity intends to remain a long-term shareholder, as do the buyers, whose identities were not disclosed.
In a statement, Affinity said it was “proud to continue to be the largest shareholder in Phoenix, and expresses great confidence in the company’s management team, its strategy and its future growth trajectory. Affinity welcomes the joining of these leading institutional entities in the next phase of Phoenix’s exciting growth plans.”
In May, Calcalist reported that Affinity was considering selling 2%-3% of Phoenix shares in order to recoup its initial investment while maintaining its position as a major shareholder. Although demand for the shares exceeded the amount sold, Kushner chose to remain Phoenix’s largest shareholder.
The transaction effectively returns Affinity’s entire investment in Phoenix, and more.
Affinity invested NIS 932 million ($304.6 million) to acquire its stake in Phoenix and has also received approximately NIS 230 million ($75.2 million) in dividends since entering the investment.
Following the sale, the fund continues to hold shares worth approximately NIS 3.3 billion ($1.08 billion). Including the proceeds from the sale and dividends received, Affinity’s total gain from the investment amounts to approximately NIS 3.6 billion ($1.18 billion), representing a return of more than five times its original investment in less than two years, an exceptional result even in the private investment world.
Affinity acquired its Phoenix stake in two stages.
In July 2024, the fund purchased 4.95% of Phoenix’s shares for NIS 466 million ($152.3 million) from U.S. investment funds Centerbridge and Gallatin Point, which were required to sell their holdings as part of the loss of control of the company.
As part of the transaction, Affinity received an option to purchase an additional identical stake at the same price, subject to approval from the Capital Markets Authority. The approval was granted in January 2025, allowing Affinity to complete the second purchase and increase its holding to approximately 9.9%, bringing its total investment to NIS 932 million ($304.6 million).
Affinity Partners manages a fund of approximately $2 billion that was raised from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Because of the origins of its capital, the fund initially faced questions over whether it would receive approval to become a significant shareholder in Phoenix. As a result, Affinity initially limited its purchase to 4.95%.
The Capital Markets Authority later approved the increase in Affinity’s holding but restricted the fund’s voting rights to no more than 5%, despite its ownership of nearly twice that amount of shares.
Phoenix, which operates without a controlling shareholder and is led by CEO Eyal Ben Simon, is currently Israel’s largest institutional investment group by market capitalization and assets under management.
The company’s market capitalization currently stands at approximately NIS 44 billion ($14.4 billion), while foreign investors already own about 40% of its shares.
Phoenix’s stock has surged since Affinity entered the company, driven by continued business growth and a decline in Israel’s risk premium, which has boosted Israeli insurance stocks.
At the end of June 2024, Phoenix managed assets totaling approximately NIS 480 billion ($156.9 billion). By the end of the first quarter of 2026, assets under management had grown to approximately NIS 623 billion ($203.6 billion).
Over the past week and a half, Phoenix CEO Eyal Ben Simon traveled to New York and met with global investors as part of the company’s efforts to expand its international shareholder base.
