OpenWeb placed under temporary receivership over $20 million debt
The District Court ordered the immediate appointment of a temporary receiver following a request from lender Mars Growth Capital to enforce its liens.
The Tel Aviv District Court has ordered the immediate appointment of a temporary receiver for high-tech company OpenWeb, escalating the company’s dispute with its secured lender, Mars Growth Capital Pre-Unicorn Fund L.P.
The temporary receiver will be selected in the coming days. The court’s decision came after Mars Growth Capital, a Singapore-based debt fund, filed an urgent motion seeking to enforce its liens over OpenWeb’s assets in Israel, bank accounts, and intellectual property. The fund also sought the appointment of attorney Erez Haver as a permanent receiver.
The motion was filed on behalf of Mars Growth Capital by attorneys Erez Haver, Moran Mordechay, and Maya Shmuel of Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co.
Court filings submitted by the fund put OpenWeb’s debt at approximately $20.01 million. The debt stems from a credit facility of up to $30 million signed in January 2025, under which OpenWeb drew a total of $24.4 million. The facility was secured by a first-priority lien over the company’s assets and accounts.
In its enforcement motion, Mars Growth Capital made a series of allegations regarding OpenWeb’s management and financial position. The fund claimed that the company misled the court by portraying itself as having no liquidity, while actually holding more than $6.18 million in liquid funds in Israeli bank accounts that could be used to finance its ongoing operations.
The fund also pointed to a sharp deterioration in OpenWeb’s financial performance in 2025. According to the filings, the company generated approximately $121.5 million in revenue, well below an original forecast of roughly $193.7 million, while recording an EBITDA loss of about $28.4 million.
The filings further state that Microsoft terminated its engagement with OpenWeb in February 2026 following allegations of inauthentic user traffic. Mars Growth Capital claims that this was a critical development that was not disclosed to the fund at the time.
Following the deterioration in the company’s business, its valuation fell from a previous $1.3 billion to a level at which potential acquisition offers are now being evaluated at between $97 million and $100 million, according to the filings.
In September, OpenWeb presented a restructuring plan that included laying off approximately 55% of its workforce, closing business operations, and seeking an urgent $19 million capital injection from shareholders.
Mars Growth Capital said it had exercised considerable patience and held prolonged discussions with OpenWeb and its lead investors, including Insight Partners, in an effort to facilitate a restructuring or sale of the company. The fund claims, however, that OpenWeb used the additional time to delay the process, failed to secure the necessary capital, and made misleading representations, ultimately leaving the company insolvent.
The lender asked the court to reject OpenWeb’s request to stay proceedings, enforce its liens, and appoint a receiver to take control of the company’s assets.
The court has now ordered the immediate appointment of a temporary receiver. The receiver is expected to be selected in the coming days, potentially placing the company’s assets and operations under court-appointed oversight as the dispute continues.
