Delek Israel to Acquire Full Ownership of Zappa Club Chain in 29 Million NIS Deal
Delek Israel and Eventim have signed an agreement transferring full ownership of the Zappa club chain to Delek in a two-phase deal worth 29 million NIS, resolving a bitter legal dispute.
Delek Israel and Eventim have signed and submitted an agreement this morning to the Competition Authority for approval, transferring ownership of the Zappa club chain, according to Calcalist. The transaction to transfer full control of Zappa from Eventim to Delek Israel will take place in two phases.
Transaction Details and Phases
In the first phase, Delek will pay Eventim 20 million NIS for Eventim's 40.5% stake in the Zappa clubs, raising Delek's ownership to 81%. An additional 19% is held by businessman Golan Einat. In the second phase, Delek Israel will pay an additional 9 million NIS to Eventim for its 61% stake in Newco, the company responsible for ticket sales, data management, and the Zappa website.
Upon completion of the transaction, ticket clearing operations, previously controlled largely by Eventim, will fall under Delek Israel's responsibility, allowing Zappa to process its own ticket sales.
Legal Disputes and Market Context
Relations between the partners in Zappa—German ticket giant Eventim on one side, and Delek Israel and Golan Einat on the other—deteriorated long ago, leading to legal conflict. In early 2025, Delek Israel sued Eventim Israel, claiming that actions by an Eventim-appointed director caused artists to abandon Zappa. Delek demanded that the Tel Aviv District Court prevent the dilution of its stake in the ticketing joint venture and appoint an accountant to examine management and establish a separation mechanism.
Delek claimed that Eventim operated with a lack of transparency and financial irregularities, alleging that former Eventim-appointed CEO Ami Feinstein alienated artists and improperly transferred concert management and negotiations to Eventim Newco.
Eventim denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit false and stating that Zappa venues remain fully booked. Despite mutual capital injections, the prolonged crisis damaged Zappa, paving the way for strong new competitors such as Tomix, Ticketmaster, and Kupa Tel Aviv.
