Jared Kushner (left) and Asi Shmeltzer. (Photo Ezra Levy)
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, which is backed by money from Saudi investors, is set to invest $150 million (570 million Shekels) in the Israeli firm Shlomo Group’s car rental, leasing, sales and credit activities. This marks the first Israeli investment made by Affinity.
Under the deal, a new subsidiary will be established under Shlomo Holdings, consolidating all joint automotive (leasing, rental and car sales) and credit operations. Shlomo Group said that Affinity Partners will take a 15% stake in the firm. The two firms also entered into a shareholders’ agreement that the new company would adopt a dividend distribution policy.
The news of the deal comes just a week after it was reported that Jared Kushner was interested in acquiring a 25% stake in Israel’s largest insurance concern Israel Phoenix Holdings, through his Affinity Partners.
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Affinity Partners was founded by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, while Trump was still in office and with Saudi money, and while Kushner himself was still working at the White House. The firm was bankrolled with $2 billion from the Saudi Arabian Sovereign wealth fund called the Public Investment Fund. .Jared Kushner made trips to Arab Gulf states while Trump was on his way out of office, ostensibly to promote the new Abraham Fund, a U.S. government-sponsored program that was established in the wake of the signing of the Abraham Accords – the peace deal between Israel and the Arab Gulf states Bahrain and the UAE.
The Shlomo Group is a family run business established in 1974 by the late Shlomo Shmeltzer. Shlomo started his business as a small car rental company with only 3 cars. Thanks to a hands-on approach and sharp commercial senses, Shmeltzer grew the Shlomo Group into a conglomerate employing some 5,000 people.
Shlomo Group chairman Asi Shmeltzer said, “This is a significant and strategic step and is a historic landmark in the group’s international activities and a tremendous potential for adding value, in particular in the areas of rental, leasing and credit. The entry of an investor of strategic value, such as the Affinity Fund, will help us expand our ties for businesses and find new economic opportunities for the group’s companies in the Middle East, the US and other countries.”
“We are confident in the long-term growth forecast for Israel and the entire new Middle East,” said Jared Kushner, “Shlomo Group’s historical growth has been solid and its future holds many exciting opportunities.”
