Another change is coming to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s management and it is coming from the United States. The Recanati family, which holds 58% of the team, has informed shareholders that it will sell half of its stake in a deal expected to be signed in the coming days. The buyer is Jewish American businessman Jason Levien, the former CEO of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
The other owners have 30 days to say whether they will exercise their right of first refusal and purchase the 29% stake themselves at a price of about $50 million. If there is no objection, Levien will join as an owner.
Jewish American businessman Jason Levien
(Photo: AP)
Levien, 52, is an American sports executive and investor who specializes in soccer and basketball teams. He began his career in sports as a player agent and later held a series of senior management positions in American sports.
In 2008, Levien left his player agency and became assistant general manager and deputy CEO of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. A few months later, in the summer of 2009, he was the one who selected Omri Casspi with the 23rd pick in the draft.
Levien also served as CEO of the Memphis Grizzlies, but in 2014, according to various reports in the U.S., he was fired immediately and unexpectedly after a breakdown in his relationship with the club’s owner, Robert Pera.
Since 2012, Levien has served as co-chairman and CEO of MLS soccer club D.C. United, after leading a group of investors that bought control of the club. He also serves as chairman of the Australian basketball team Brisbane Bullets. In 2016, he and his business partner, Steve Kaplan, bought control of the British soccer club Swansea City, and Levien also served on the team’s board of directors.
When the two entered the club, they appointed Bob Bradley as manager but did not update the supporters’ representative, which was customary at the club at the time. The move also came amid existing tensions following the pair’s purchase of the club, as fans were unhappy with their arrival. Levien sold his stake in the club in 2024.
The stake in question is effectively the one held by the Federman family through Fedanco Sport, which passed to the Recanati family after it exercised its right of first refusal to dilute the Federmans’ shares and bring in Rapyd fintech founder Arik Shtilman as an additional owner. The Recanati family has now informed the team’s other shareholders of its intention to sell part of its stake.
The other shareholders are Shimon Mizrahi, who holds 14.5%, Richard Deitz, with 17.5%, and Ben Ashkenazi, with 10%.