Tech Leaders Rappaport and Waldman Reject Maccabi Haifa Buyout Offer
Tech leaders Asaf Rappaport and Eyal Waldman have turned down an offer to join a consortium seeking to acquire Maccabi Haifa football club for around $100 million.
Prominent Israeli entrepreneurs Asaf Rappaport and Eyal Waldman have declined an invitation to join a potential investor group aiming to acquire the Maccabi Haifa football club. The initiative was led by entrepreneur Tom Livne, who approached his close acquaintances with the proposal.
In an interview, Livne revealed that both Rappaport and Waldman firmly rejected the offer, stating that professional sports investments fall outside their business and personal focus. The effort to assemble a buyer consortium follows longtime club president Yaakov Shahar's intention to sell the franchise after decades at the helm. Livne noted that the reported asking price of approximately $100 million exceeds the realistic market value for a football club in Israel.
Both Rappaport, co-founder and CEO of cloud security unicorn Wiz, and Waldman, founder of Mellanox which was acquired by Nvidia, possess substantial capital. However, they opted out of the ownership transition talks. Meanwhile, investment bank The Raine Group continues its efforts to secure prospective buyers, with Livne indicating that non-Jewish investors are also being considered as all options remain open.
