Affinity Partners, the U.S. investment fund led by Jared Kushner, has agreed to sell 2.5% of Phoenix Financial’s shares to major international asset managers for about NIS 1 billion.
Affinity is currently Phoenix’s largest shareholder, with a 9.9% stake. Following the transaction, its holding will fall to 7.4%.
The fund said it intends to retain its remaining shares for the long term. The buyers, whose identities were not disclosed, were also described as long-term investors.
The report initially referred to two international buyers, while later stating that the shares were sold to three major global institutional investors, one of which already held shares in Phoenix.
Investment bank Jefferies, which was hired by Affinity, led and accompanied the transaction.
Phoenix CEO Eyal Ben Simon spent the past week and a half in New York meeting global investors. Demand exceeded the number of shares ultimately sold, but Kushner decided to retain Affinity’s position as Phoenix’s largest shareholder.
Calcalist reported exclusively in May that Kushner intended to sell between 2% and 3% of Phoenix while remaining the company’s largest shareholder. His aim was to recover Affinity’s original investment while retaining the remaining shares as profit.
Affinity said it was “proud to continue being the largest shareholder in Phoenix” and expressed strong confidence in the company’s management team, strategy and future growth trajectory.
“Affinity welcomes the addition of these leading institutional investors to the next phase of Phoenix’s exciting growth plans,” the fund said.
Phoenix, which trades without a controlling shareholder, is currently Israel’s largest institutional financial group by both market capitalization, at about NIS 44 billion, and assets under management.
Phoenix
From Phoenix’s perspective, the sale expands its base of foreign investors, which already hold about 40% of the company’s shares.
The transaction reflects a total gain of NIS 3.6 billion for Affinity on an investment that began two years ago.
In July 2024, Affinity acquired a 4.95% stake in Phoenix for NIS 466 million from the U.S. funds Centerbridge and Gallatin Point as they dispersed their holdings and relinquished control of the company.
Affinity also received an option to acquire an identical stake for the same amount after receiving the required regulatory approvals. Those approvals were granted in January 2025, bringing Affinity’s total holding to 9.9% at a combined investment of NIS 932 million.
The current sale therefore returns Affinity’s entire original investment, and more.
Since Affinity invested in Phoenix, the company’s share price has surged and its market capitalization has increased fivefold. Following the sale, Affinity’s remaining stake is worth about NIS 3.3 billion.
The fund has also received about NIS 230 million in dividends during the period.
Phoenix’s share-price rally came amid sharp growth in its business operations and a decline in Israel’s risk premium, which provided a tailwind for insurance stocks.
At the end of June 2024, before Affinity entered Phoenix, the company managed assets totaling NIS 480 billion. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, its assets under management had risen to NIS 623 billion.