Zol Stock Owner Ronen Ganon Cleared to Acquire Multi Retail Group for NIS 168M
Ronen Ganon, owner of Zol Stock, has received antitrust approval to acquire a 70% stake in Multi Retail Group for 168 million shekels, paving the way for a merger into a 155-store retail group.
The Israel Competition Authority has approved the acquisition of Multi Retail Group by Ronen Ganon, owner of the Zol Stock chain. Ganon will acquire the company alongside Zol Peh, a venture he holds with two partners. The deal, finalized just a month ago, received swift clearance from the authority led by Michal Kohan. Zol Peh and Ganon will pay 168 million shekels for a 70% stake in Multi Retail.
Multi Retail operates the Ace DIY chain, the Auto Depot automotive products chain, and the Beitili and Urban home furniture chains. The shares were purchased from the Kedma private equity fund, which originally bought Ace in 2016 from Electra Consumer Products for 145 million shekels at a 190 million shekel valuation. Kedma floated the company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2021 at a 400 million shekel valuation, selling 100 million shekels in shares to recoup its investment. However, the company's valuation subsequently plummeted to just 54 million shekels by 2023 following heavy write-downs and a failure to meet financial covenants after acquiring Beitili and Urban alongside ID Design.
Ganon, an ultra-Orthodox businessman from Safed, acquired a 50% controlling stake in Zol Stock about six months ago from Yochananof for 48 million shekels. The newly expanded group plans to streamline the acquired company and merge it with Zol Stock within two years, creating a retail giant with 155 stores and an annual turnover of 1.7 billion shekels.
