Steve Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital is reportedly in talks to acquire a 25% stake in Israel’s Phoenix Agencies insurance company for more than $235 million. If such a deal goes through it would give Phoenix an estimated $950 million valuation.
Phoenix Holdings currently has an 80% stake in Phoenix Agencies.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at office@jewishbusinessnews.com.
Thank you.
The important issue here is that such a big deal is even being considered while Israel is still fighting the Iron Swords War in Gaza against the terrorist group Hamas. The war in Gaza has lasted for almost four months. It began after the barbaric attack enacted by Hams on October 7, 2023, during which more than 1,200 innocent Israelis were massacred, including babies in their cribs.
Steve Mnuchin spoke about making such investments in Israel in wartime telling Calcalist, “The initial reaction at the beginning of the war was: stop, and you saw the stock market drop significantly as well as the shekel. However, we’ve seen both return to normal levels in the past month. We have a long-term view, positive views on the economy here and we’re looking at some very large significant investment opportunities. Despite what’s going on with the war, we believe in the Israeli economy and the opportunities going forward.”
Founded by David Hachmy in 1949 as a private company, which became public in 1978, Phoenix Holdings has been operating in the Insurance and Finance field for the past 71 years, and as of today, is considered to be the leading insurance company in Israel. The Company’s main focus is in the insurance, health, pension and provident fields. As of today, the company’s stock is a constituent of a few main indices, among them is the prestigious Tel Aviv 35 index.
Steven Mnuchin, who was treasury secretary in the Trump administration, established Liberty Strategic Capital soon after he left office in 2021 together with former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. The firm is based in Washington and has an office in Tel Aviv.
