Bill Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman buy 5% of the main stock exchange in Israel for roughly $17 million

Bill Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman buy 5% of the main stock exchange in Israel for roughly $17 million, per Bloomberg.

This marks Ackman's initial significant investment in Israel since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and the subsequent conflict in Gaza. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange recently sold an 18.5% stake for approximately $64 million to a group of foreign and local investors, with Bill Ackman and Michael Oxman being the identified participants. The shares were previously held by Israeli banks Bank Hapoalim, Mizrahi Tefahot, and the First International Bank of Israel. The majority of the funds raised will be directed towards the stock exchange treasury for technology infrastructure investments. The sale, carried out according to an agreement between the banks and the stock exchange, involved a special dividend distribution.

It drew interest from investors across Israel, the United States, Europe, and Australia, indicating confidence in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the Israeli economy. The transaction was facilitated by investment banks Jefferies and Leader Capital Markets, with the stock exchange CEO, Ittai Ben Zeev, overseeing the sale due to a conflict of interest under securities laws. As per the 2017 stock exchange privatization outline, the banks sold their shares at a fixed price of NIS 5.08 per share, accompanied by a simultaneous NIS 231 million dividend distribution. Despite initial reluctance from the banks, a compromise was reached, allowing for the sale at the agreed-upon price.

Since April 2021, the stock exchange has experienced a modest 10% increase in its value following an initial surge in its first year of issuance. Ackman, known for his activism, has been in the spotlight for his role in addressing anti-Semitism issues at U.S. higher education institutions, notably calling for the resignation of university presidents. Recently, allegations of plagiarism surfaced regarding Oxman's MIT doctoral thesis, adding a new dimension to Ackman's involvement in higher education affairs.