A new era has begun at Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club after the Recanati family announced Tuesday evening that it is buying Fedanco’s stake in the team for $50 million.
The move marks the end of the Federman family’s role in the club’s ownership. Fedanco held half of the company, equal to 14.5% of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s ownership, the same share that had been set to be held by Arik Shtilman, founder and CEO of Rapyd.
Following the deal, the Recanati family will hold 58% of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Richard Deitz will hold 17.5%, Shimon Mizrahi 14.5% and Ben Ashkenazi 10%.
The Recanati family said in response that it intends “to invest tens of millions of dollars in the player budget in the coming years.” The Federman family issued a brief statement with a pointed tone: “We will say thank you and wish them success.”
Officials at the club expressed shock at the Recanati family’s decision and said the move came as a complete surprise. “A very extreme step,” one club official said.
According to the club, the Recanati family had disliked the deal Federman made with Shtilman from the beginning. After the conduct surrounding the Yam Madar deal, they concluded that the partnership would not work and that they needed to take this step.
Each of the existing owners had 30 days to acquire full ownership of Fedanco, and the Recanati family exercised that right Tuesday.
In an interview with ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth about six weeks ago, Shtilman said he did not believe anyone would use that option.
“I do not believe in any world that someone is going to exercise that right,” he said. “It is not right for the team and not right for them. I have already spoken with all the owners except Recanati because he was abroad. I understand from my conversation with Shimon that he has no intention of delaying or preventing the deal. He only wants what is best for Maccabi.”
After the sale was announced, Shtilman posted on X: “I have always been a Maccabi fan, and I will remain a Maccabi fan. I wish the Recanati family great success. Yalla Maccabi!”
The Federman family’s connection to Maccabi Tel Aviv began long before it formally entered the ownership structure. David Federman was the son of Yitzhak Federman, one of the first players in the club’s basketball department. Later, through the Elite company, David Federman became Maccabi’s main and most closely identified sponsor until 2008.
In the early 2000s, he was a central partner in the club’s transition to private ownership and, together with Shimon Mizrahi and Udi Recanati, became one of the three figures most closely identified with Maccabi Tel Aviv’s great era in Israel and Europe.
Udi Recanati alongside David Federman
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
The Federman family held 29% of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s shares over the years. David served on the board and was also vice chairman, while his son Danny gradually entered the club’s day-to-day management. Danny joined the board, was appointed co-CEO alongside Eli Driks in 2011 and later remained a central figure in management even after leaving the post.
David Federman died in February 2026, but until the current deal, the family remained one of the club’s main power centers.
Udi Recanati, alongside David Federman and Shimon Mizrahi, was one of the pillars of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s ownership and management structure from the beginning of the private ownership era. The three led the club during years of major success in Israel and Europe, with the Recanati family long seen as one of the team’s three main centers of power, even though Udi Recanati generally remained less publicly visible than Federman and Mizrahi.
A major turning point came in 2009, after Raanan Katz’s departure. The Recanati family’s stake grew from about 17% to 40%, making it, alongside Federman, one of the club’s largest controlling shareholders.
In 2011, the next generation also entered more formally. Shai Recanati, Udi’s son, was appointed vice chairman as part of an effort to bring younger leadership into the system. He later became a prominent partner in management and in the family’s decision-making within Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The latest deal now leaves the Recanati family as the clear controlling shareholder and reshapes the balance of power at one of Israeli sports’ most prominent clubs.