Meet the Turnaround Experts Behind the Arkia Israeli Airlines Buyout
A group of seasoned investors with a proven track record in corporate turnarounds has emerged as the prospective buyer of Arkia Israeli Airlines, surprising market observers with their lack of aviation experience but deep financial expertise.
The composition of the investor group acquiring Arkia Israeli Airlines has surprised market observers, primarily because the buyers lack a background in aviation. However, the four-person consortium brings extensive experience in turning around distressed companies.
The most prominent figure in the group is businessman Yariv Lerner, who recently finalized a deal to sell his controlling stake in the mobile operator Wecom to Pelephone for 265 million shekels. This transaction comes less than five years after Lerner and Cleanup Capital acquired the troubled company for 100 million shekels following a debt restructuring under previous owner Hezi Bezalel.
Corporate Turnarounds and Market Activity
Another turnaround led by Lerner is the home products importer Negev, where he serves as chairman. Lerner acquired Negev a decade ago alongside Viola Credit after the company faced severe financial distress. In July, Negev returned to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange following a successful debt issuance that demonstrated sustained revenue growth and a return to profitability.
Additionally, Lerner recently integrated the investment house Horizon Capital Markets, led by Itay Lipkovitz, into the public shell Blue Wave in a deal valuing the firm at approximately 40 million shekels. Following the merger, Lerner will become the dominant shareholder in the investment house, which manages around 2 billion shekels in assets.
Real Estate Moguls and Strategic Partnerships
Joining the Arkia acquisition are businessmen Yaron Adiv and Kidan Dahari. The pair first gained prominence in 2017 when they acquired the income-producing real estate company Tnuport for 160 million shekels from the receivers of Eliezer Fishman's assets. Three years later, they expanded their portfolio by acquiring Isfaro for 800 million shekels from Property and Building, then controlled by Eduardo Elsztain.
Last year, Dahari and Adiv merged Tnuport and Isfaro. Today, the consolidated company holds 27 income-producing properties spanning from Beersheba in the south to Moshav Liman in the north, with a total value of approximately 3.1 billion shekels. Spanning 278,000 square meters, these properties generated 318.6 million shekels in revenue last year.
The business partners made headlines again in July when they joined investor Tzahi Abu to acquire a controlling stake in G-City from Chaim Katzman. Although Katzman ultimately withdrew from the transaction and questioned the partners' financial profile compared to Abu's holdings, the episode underscored their aggressive market expansion.
The Shark Tank Investor
The fourth member of the consortium is Einav Adiv-Barer, sister of Yaron Adiv. In 1994, at the age of 22, Adiv-Barer founded DPL, the manufacturer of BabySitter diapers, bringing her brothers into the business. Two decades later, in 2015, the siblings sold their controlling stake to Neopharm for 95 million shekels.
That same year, Adiv-Barer and her husband, Dr. Michael Barer, established the private medical center TLV Medical Center. In 2019, they brought in Ayalon Insurance as a partner based on a company valuation of 40 million shekels. Adiv-Barer also gained public recognition as one of the investors in the Israeli edition of Keshet 12's reality show The Sharks.
