Jay Schottenstein, chairman of America’s largest fashion retailers American Eagle Outfitters and DSW is in talks to acquire control of the basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv, at a value of $35 million, Israeli Calcalist reported.
The club’s annual budget is about $75 million.
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Currently, the club’s shareholders includes: David Federman (29%), controlling shareholder of publicly traded Petrochemical; Recanati family (29%), the former controlling shareholder of IDB and Israel Discount Bank; American Richard Dietze (17.5%), founder and president of VR Capital Group; American Ben Ashkenazi (10%), CEO and Chairman of Real Estate company Ashkenazy Acquisition Company; Newco, owned by Shimon Mizrahi (14.5%).
The team has failed to make it to the EuroLeague quarter finals (it was eliminated after the Regular season), which could leave it with a deficit of about $5 million for the year. The Israeli League season was just as big a disaster, when Maccabi was eliminated in the semifinal for the second season in a row, this time by the eventual champions, Maccabi Rishon LeZion.
With six European Championships, one Adriatic Championship, 51 Israeli Championships, 44 Israeli Cups, and six League Cups, Maccabi Tel Aviv has been the most successful basketball team in Israel. It is also one of the most successful basketball teams of all time.
The Schottenstein family’s wealth estimated at $2.7 billion, according to Forbes (2015), coming mainly from Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI) and American Eagle Outfitters, in which it currently holds a 26.5% share.
Jay Schottenstein himself owns about 3% of American Eagle Outfitters, as well as Retail Ventures’ stake in the company. The family are best known in their hometown Columbus, Ohio not for the many companies they founded (they own 19 companies) but for funding Ohio State’s basketball arena, the Jerome Schottenstein Center, nicknamed The Schott.
