Kedma Capital in Advanced Talks to Acquire 50% Stake in Shomsum Chain
Kedma Capital is in advanced talks to acquire 50% of the Shomsum restaurant chain from founder Tomer Alon for tens of millions of shekels, aiming to expand its Gush Dan branches.
Israeli investment funds continue to target the restaurant sector. Calcalist has learned that Kedma Capital is in very advanced negotiations to acquire a 50% stake in the Shomsum (ShumSUM) restaurant chain from its founder, Tomer Alon. Kedma will inject several tens of millions of shekels into the company and a similar amount as an exit payment to Alon. The transaction includes conditional future payments as well as options to purchase additional shares.
The Shomsum Healthy Bar chain was founded by Alon in 2014 and currently includes 24 branches across the Gush Dan cities, with the network expected to expand to 30 branches by the end of 2026. The capital injected by Kedma will be used to expand the company's branch network. Shomsum also operates a factory in Holon where it produces some of its menu items. The transaction on behalf of Kedma Capital was led by young partner Nir Zarfati.
The catering and restaurant sector has been in the crosshairs of quite a few financial investors over the past two years. The largest transaction is Bank Leumi's 200 million shekel investment, through Leumi Partners, in the Japanika Japanese food chain. Last December, Leumi Partners and More Investment House invested 120 million shekels in the Mimi-Nono restaurant chain at a valuation of 520 million shekels. In addition, Green Lantern, owned by Richie Hunter, Daniel Ben-Rei, and Joseph Elias, acquired a 50% stake in the Biscotti chain for 250 million shekels. A year ago, an investor group purchased a third of Kiso restaurants at a valuation of 350 million shekels.
Kedma Capital, managed by Gilad Halevi, Gilad Shavit, and Ori Einan, holds a large portfolio of holdings, including Keter Plastic, Zricha Group, Carmel Winery, and the computing and mobile company C-Data. In August, the fund sold its holdings (69.9%) in Multi Retail for approximately 166 million shekels, the plastic company Peles Fit, and acquired Gaash Lighting, which had fallen into debt, alongside Kobi Friedrich.
