Maccabi Haifa owner seeks $100 million sale of the club
Yaakov Shahar has renewed efforts to sell the club in its entirety, six months after a deal for a 50% stake with American investors collapsed. Raine Group is exploring potential buyers, including a proposed group of wealthy investors and Israeli tech entrepreneurs.
Yaakov Shahar, the owner of Maccabi Haifa, is renewing efforts to sell the club, six months after a deal to sell a 50% stake to a group of American investors fell through, Calcalist has learned. This time, Shahar aims to sell 100% of the club in a single transaction for $100 million.
Shahar and his partners, the heirs of Israel Kaz, have engaged investment bank Raine Group to find a buyer for the club, Calcalist has learned. Raine operates in eight cities worldwide: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, London, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore. The bank specializes in technology, media and telecommunications and has advised on numerous acquisitions and capital raises in the sports industry.
Raine was founded by Joe Ravitch, a Goldman Sachs alumnus, and Jeff Sine, a former senior executive at UBS. Both serve as senior partners at the firm. A key figure in the deal is David Chizik, an Israeli businessman with close ties to Shahar and to Raine's founders, Ravitch and Sine.
Calcalist has also learned that Raine has begun approaching potential buyers to gauge their interest. Among the options being explored is a buyer group led by a Jewish billionaire of Len Blavatnik’s stature, although Blavatnik has said he was not approached. Under the proposed structure, the billionaire would acquire a 51% stake, while a group of high-tech professionals who support Maccabi Haifa would purchase the remaining 49%, with each investor contributing between $5 million and $10 million.
The high-tech entrepreneurs are active in a forum known as “Greentech,” which brings together technology figures who support the club. Entrepreneur Tom Livne is spearheading the initiative on their behalf. Livne previously co-founded Verbit, a business transcription company that reached a peak valuation of $2 billion. He is currently CEO of Iron Dome Acquisition, a Nasdaq-listed company that raised $157 million in May from Eyal Waldman and other business figures.
Other entrepreneurs who could participate in the acquisition include Ofer Ben-Noon, who founded Argus and Talon, which were sold for a combined total of more than $1 billion; Tal Slobodkin, a managing partner at VC firm StageOne; Shimon Elkabetz, founder of weather forecasting company Tomorrow; Ziv Paz, co-founder of payments platform Melio; Tamar Bar-Ilan, founder of Cyera; Ami Sirkis, founder of sports app Score365, which was sold for $200 million; and Guy Nitzan, founder of Israeli company Re-Cap, which provides personalized sports recaps.
Not all members of Greentech are involved in the initiative, and only some are expected to invest. Hotelier David Fattal and shipping magnate Udi Angel may also join the group.
About a year ago, a group of American investors held talks to acquire a 50% stake in Maccabi Haifa, specifically the stake held by the heirs of Israel Kaz, at a valuation of $80 million. The deal included an option to buy the Shahar family’s stake at a later date, but negotiations collapsed over disagreements.
Shahar, 84, has decided to sell the club in consultation with his sons. He regards Maccabi Haifa as his life’s work and is determined to find a buyer who can ensure continuity rather than sell to just anyone. He has owned the club for 35 years, an unusually long tenure in football, both in Israel and internationally.
Shahar confirmed his intention to sell the club but said the group of high-tech entrepreneurs had not contacted him.
