Jared Kushner (left) and Asi Shmeltzer. (Photo Ezra Levy)
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners has sealed the deal to acquire 15% of the Israeli firm Shlomo Group’s auto and credit operations. The deal is worth $110 million and leaves Shlomo Group with about a $750 million value.
The deal, first raised in September, was closed after the October 7 Hamas massacre. But because of that the two firms decided to delay their announcement.
The firms said that the goal of this investment is to expand the Shlomo Group’s vehicle and financing company in Israel to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In light of the 2020 Abraham Accords which brought peace between Israel and four Arab nations, including the UAE, and expectations that more Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, will soon make peace with Israel, the potential for Shlomo Group’s growth is high.
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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 Sixt is Israel’s largest car rental company providing services to customers through its network of 30 nationwide rental branches. The company provides 24-hour car rental services to tourists and international business travelers at Ben Gurion International Airport. In the corporate area, Shlomo Sixt rents a large number of vehicles to a variety of government offices, institutions, and companies, including Israel’s leading telecom, insurance and hi-tech companies. The company also provides Israeli tourists and business travelers with rental vouchers in Europe and the US through Sixt International including 4,000 stations worldwide.
“We are excited to partner with the Shmeltzer family through our investment in Shlomo, which has continued to exhibit the same resilience as the entire country. Affinity is looking forward to more promising opportunities in Israel and the region,” Jared Kushner said.
Asi Shmeltzer, Chairperson, Shlomo Group, said: “This transaction has succeeded despite the challenging times in Israel. The investment was made possible by the sincere confidence in the Group, its employees and managers and in Israel’s economy. We hope that this partnership will lead to significant growth and profitable yields in the near future.”
