Investment Giant Fidelity Acquires Portion of Phoenix Shares Sold by Jared Kushner

The American investment fund Affinity Partners, led by Jared Kushner, has sold a quarter (2.5%) of its holdings in Israel's largest insurance company, Phoenix Finance, for 1.05 billion shekels. Affinity, whose investors are the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, will continue to hold 7.4% of Phoenix shares, worth 3.3 billion shekels.

Affinity sold the shares to three large global institutional entities. Calcalist has learned that the main portion, about 1.6% of Phoenix shares, was purchased by the American firm Fidelity, which manages about 7 trillion dollars and advises on assets of about 18 trillion dollars. Fidelity held Phoenix shares previously and is now increasing its stake. The other two entities that purchased the shares are investing in Phoenix for the first time. Phoenix declined to comment. Demand was higher.

The move was accompanied and led by the investment bank Jefferies, which was hired by Affinity. Eyal Ben Simon, CEO of Phoenix, has been in New York for the last week and a half, meeting with global investors. Although demand was higher, Kushner decided to remain the largest shareholder in Phoenix. The shares were sold at a price of 168.5 shekels per share, meaning a 4% discount compared to the opening price of the Phoenix share in trading yesterday morning on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The stock reacted with a moderate decline and ended the trading day down 2%.

With this sale, Kushner's fund recouped its entire investment in the shares, which amounted to 932 million shekels. In addition, it has already received dividends of 230 million shekels, so it has made a profit of 4.5 times its investment. In July 2024 and January 2025, the fund acquired, in two stages, 9.83% of Phoenix shares from the American funds Centerbridge and Gallatin Point, which were forced to sell their investments and missed out on a fivefold increase in the company's value.

Last May, Calcalist revealed Kushner's intention to sell a 2%–3% stake in Phoenix shares and remain the largest shareholder in the company. His goal was to recoup the initial investment and remain with the profit. Phoenix shares have stagnated and even retreated since the publication in Calcalist about Kushner's intention to realize some of his shares. This is similar to the situation that occurred when the intention of Centerbridge and Gallatin to sell their holdings became known two years ago. With the completion of the sale, the pressure on the stock may decrease, especially after Kushner declared that he does not intend to sell additional shares and that the fund will remain the largest shareholder in the company.

In a statement, Affinity said it is "proud to continue to be the largest shareholder in Phoenix, and expresses great confidence in the company's management team, its strategy, and its future growth path. Affinity welcomes the joining of these leading institutional entities to the next stage of Phoenix's exciting growth plans."

A 5-fold return in two years

As mentioned, Affinity acquired the stake in Phoenix in two stages. The fund's money, about 2 billion dollars, was raised from Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. This fact initially raised questions regarding obtaining a permit to hold Phoenix, so in the first stage, the fund settled for purchasing 4.95% of the company's shares in July 2024. Affinity purchased the initial stake for 466 million shekels, along with an option to purchase an additional 4.95% at the same price. The exercise of the option was subject to receiving a permit from the Capital Markets Authority, which was granted in January 2025. The approval was given on the condition that the fund's voting rights would not exceed 5%, even though it holds almost double the percentage of shares.

In total, Affinity purchased the entire holding at a cost of 932 million shekels, so it recorded a return of more than five times its investment in less than two years — an exceptional return even in the world of private investments. Affinity previously held talks to purchase 25% of Phoenix's insurance agencies at a valuation of about 1 billion dollars, but the talks did not mature into a deal. The fund also holds 15% of the shares of the car company Shlomo Holdings — the holding company of the Shmeltzer family — which it purchased in 2025 for 110 million dollars.

Kushner, a Jew married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, is considered a supporter of Israel and a person of political influence. In recent years, he has been involved in efforts to return the hostages kidnapped on October 7, and took part in contacts and diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Trump administration on the matter.

Centerbridge and Gallatin acquired control of Phoenix in November 2019, and a week later Ben Simon was appointed CEO of the company and Benny Gabay was appointed chairman. Ben Simon stepped into the big shoes of Eyal Lapidot, who led Phoenix into a new era, during which it was at times the insurance company with the highest market value in the industry. Phoenix, which trades without a controlling core, is currently the largest institutional entity in Israel, both in terms of market value (about 44 billion shekels) and in terms of assets under management (about 623 billion shekels as of the end of the first quarter). From the company's perspective, the deal further expands its base of foreign investors, who already hold about 40% of its shares today. Ben Simon and Gabay took office when Phoenix's market value was 5.1 billion shekels. Since then, the company has recorded an increase of about 860% in its value. That is, the company's value has grown more than 9 times during their tenure.