Billionaire Bill Ackman, Wife Buy 5% Stake in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Pro-Israel billionaire Bill Ackman and wife Neri Oxman have bought a stake in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, marking one of the most notable investments in Israel since the outbreak of war in October.

Ackman and his wife bought 5% of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, as the deal is part of the stock exchange’s sale of an approximately 18.5% stake to foreign and local investors for 353 million shekels ($95 million) to attract investments, which means that the couple paid $25 million, according to Bloomberg.

While a report by "CNBC" indicated that the value of the deal amounted to $17.3 million.

The couple were the only investors named in a statement detailing the sale, which was priced at a 5% discount to the last closing.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Company's shares fell by 3% since the beginning of the war until Tuesday's close, which is a weaker performance compared to its counterparts in international stock exchange companies. 

Shares of the Saudi Tadawul Stock Exchange, the German Stock Exchange, and the London Stock Exchange Group achieved gains of more than 10% in the same period.

Ackman, a Harvard graduate, is the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management and has a personal net worth of $2.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This deal is considered Israel's latest attempt to attract investments with the aim of supporting its economy and the local stock market in light of the ongoing war and increased costs to the government.