Assaf Rappaport is rebuilding Israel's media map: The details behind the acquisitions
The founder of Wiz, who brought about the $32 billion exit, is shifting his center of gravity from the cyber world to mega-deals in media, social networks, and retail that touch every home in Israel.
Quietly, but with unprecedented financial power, a dramatic change has taken place in the media world over the past year. Assaf Rappaport, who was identified more than any other entrepreneur with the Israeli cyber and high-tech industry, has decided to leave the high-tech incubator and land in the center of Israeli society and culture.
Acquiring control of Channel 13, taking over the social media powerhouse Israel Bidur, and now the advanced negotiations to purchase the Israeli franchise of McDonald's, paint a picture of an extraordinary strategy. What drives the young billionaire to shift his center of gravity from server clouds to the Israeli living room, the Instagram feed, and fast-food lines?
To understand the magnitude of the event, one must return to the starting point, March 2026, the moment when the acquisition of the company Wiz by Google was officially completed for a massive sum of $32 billion, the record exit in the country's history. Rappaport and his partners found themselves in a financial position that allowed them to fulfill any dream they wanted. It very quickly became clear that the goal was not passive investment in venture capital funds overseas, but involvement in the core infrastructure of Israeli society.
In March 2026, a group of high-tech entrepreneurs led by Rappaport and his partner Yinon Costica led the acquisition of control over Channel 13 from billionaire Len Blavatnik. The deal was made through the Merit Spread fund, a philanthropic fund established by Rappaport and Costica, to which they had channeled shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars even before the exit. The group paid about $25 million for the majority shares and committed to injecting about $100 million within three years, with the goal of bringing the channel to operational balance and ensuring journalistic independence without personal commercial or political motives.
In July 2026, the Merit fund acquired 60% of the shares of the Israel Bidur group at a valuation of 80 million shekels, in the most expensive social media deal in the country's history. The group reaches 4 million followers on digital platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and generates over 1.5 billion impressions per month. The deal represents an immediate connection to the young audience, the updated language, and the cultural-entertainment agenda in Israel, while leaving the founders, the Saar brothers, in day-to-day management.
This month it was revealed that Rappaport is conducting advanced negotiations with McDonald's Global to acquire the franchise in Israel, which includes about 225 branches and an annual sales turnover of about 1.7 billion shekels. The global chain bought back the franchise from Omri Padan following the turmoil and international boycotts that arose after the events of October 7. The deal, estimated at $200 to $300 million, serves as Rappaport's entry ticket into the world of retail, commercial real estate, and mass consumption.
The question occupying everyone in both the business and media worlds is what lies behind the chain of acquisitions. An entrepreneur who reached the global peak in software and security does not need the operational headaches of a hamburger chain or a news company. Three main motives guide these moves, the first of which is shaping the public space and Israeli resilience. Rappaport has never hidden his civic and social involvement, and the combination of a traditional broadcast channel like Channel 13 and a digital empire like Israel Bidur gives the Merit fund a grip on both ends of the public discourse. The idea is not control over content for profit, but the creation of media infrastructure that is balanced, stable, and independent of political pressure or capital owners with foreign agendas.
Another central motive is the acquisition of consensus assets and a deep connection to Israeliness. Television, social networks, and McDonald's are the three pillars of daily Israeli culture. McDonald's Israel is not just a food chain, but a real estate footprint in an unprecedented number of shopping centers and a meeting point for all sectors of society. Beyond the economic synergy and the stable cash flow that the chain generates, it is about holding a distinct national asset.
Beyond that, it is an expression of a new active-philanthropic model. Unlike the old generation of philanthropists who donate to university buildings, Rappaport and Costica are implementing an impact investment model. The use of the Merit fund, which is not a for-profit company, allows for the invitation of philanthropic and business capital to stabilize critical bodies, while severing the link between owners and journalistic or public content.
If the previous decade of Assaf Rappaport's life will be remembered for the technological breakthroughs from Adallom and Wiz, the current decade is emerging as a chapter of national influence. Rappaport is building an empire that is not based on lines of computer code, but on physical, cultural, and media assets that touch millions of Israelis every day. This business-philanthropic model is reshaping the map of control in the Israeli economy and setting a new bar for the involvement of high-tech entrepreneurs in local society.
