Arik Shtilman, the Rapyd founder and Maccabi Tel Aviv's main shirt sponsor, has turned up the pressure on the Recanati family, telling ONE's "Sicha Hayom" programme that refusing his latest takeover bid for the club would be "insane".
Shtilman has submitted an improved offer to buy the Recanati family's 58% stake in the basketball club for $120 million — a $20 million premium on the price Udi and Shai Recanati paid to acquire the Federmann family's shares earlier this year — plus a further $30 million he is prepared to inject directly into the club's coffers to strengthen the roster.
According to the offer, reported by Walla Sport and Sport1, the additional $30 million investment would not dilute any other shareholder's holding, with the stated aim of putting Maccabi back among Europe's elite.
Shtilman has set a deadline of Sunday for the Recanati family to respond, Sport1 reports, having delivered the proposal directly to Udi and Shai Recanati.
It is Shtilman's second attempt to force his way into full control. He had originally agreed, via the Federmann family's Fedanco Sports vehicle, to buy a 50% stake in Fedanco — effectively 14.5% of the club — and join the board. That deal collapsed in July when the Recanati family exercised its right of first refusal, buying out Fedanco's entire 29% holding for $50 million and lifting their own stake to 58%, freezing Shtilman out.
About a week and a half ago Shtilman came back with a $100 million bid for the full 58% Recanati holding, only to raise it again to the current $120 million-plus-$30 million package after the family did not engage, according to Ynet.
On air, Shtilman argued any rational owner would take the money, framing his offer as fair value plus a premium and pointing to his willingness to leave the Recanatis a minority stake of 5-10% if they wished to remain involved.
He also dismissed a rival bid from the American businessman Jason Levin, who has been negotiating with the Recanati family to buy roughly half of their holding for around $50 million, telling ONE that Levin lacks the financial firepower to properly back the club.
The saga has become one of the most closely watched ownership sagas in Israeli basketball this summer, with Maccabi Tel Aviv — 12-time Israeli champions and six-time EuroLeague winners — caught between competing suitors while its playing budget and European ambitions hang in the balance.
Shtilman has previously said he will not walk away until the Recanati family exits the club altogether, and reiterated that he believes a reshaped ownership under his control could return Maccabi to the EuroLeague Final Four multiple times within five years.
