Yitzhak Tshuva has received a permit today from the Bank of Israel to control credit card company Isracard (TASE: ISCD). This is the last regulatory approval required for Tshuva to take over the company.
Tshuva will thus shortly become the controlling shareholder in Isracard through Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG), which he controls. Delek Group will buy 37% of the shares in Isracard at a valuation of NIS 3.56 billion. Together with the Isracard shares that Delek Group already owns, this will give it a 40% stake. Delek Group will pay NIS 1.3 billion, and Isracard will also distribute a dividend. The deal is expected to close within a week to ten days.
The Bank of Israel stated: “The Supervisor of Banks Department has concluded the process of examining the application for a permit to control Isracard.” The examination was required because Isracard is one of the three largest credit card companies in Israel, and because of Tshuva’s past, which includes a debt settlement in Delek Real Estate, giving rise to concerns at the Bank of Israel about financial stability.
The Competition Authority approved the takeover in March, after Isracard’s shareholders voted in favor of the sale to Delek Group in February.
Isracard became a listed company in 2019, when Bank Hapoalim was forced to sell its stake in the company in accordance with the recommendations of the Strum committee on separation of the credit card companies from the banks.
The battle over Isracard started two years ago, when insurance companies Harel and Menora Mivtachim competed to buy the company. Harel won, but was blocked by the Competition Authority, opening the way to a new round of bidding.
Menora Mivtachim tried its luck again, but the race was joined by Yitzhak Tshuva, Bank of Jerusalem, and even El Al. In the end, the shareholders plumped for Tshuva’s bid, and his group has now jumped the final hurdle.
The race to buy Isracard began after Clal Insurance bought rival credit card company Max (formerly Leumi Card), signaling to the market the potential in the sector. The third company that is shortly expected to be up for sale is Cal, controlled by Israel Discount Bank (72%).
“We believe in the great potential at Isracard, and in its ability to grow in clearance, and in consumer and commercial credit, in addition to other channels into which we believe that Isracard can, and should, expand,” said Delek Group CEO Idan Wallace. “I believe that joining Delek Group will give Isracard a following wind, taking it forwards, and will be good news for consumers, investors in Isracard, and Delek Group, and lead to realization of the great potential that we see in Isracard, and boost competition. Our clear aim is to turn Isracard into the leading company in the sector, and we believe that it has the potential to get there.”
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Delek Group’s main business is energy, with holdings (through subsidiaries) in the Yam Tethys Partnership, and the Tamar, Leviathan, Tanin, and Aphrodite gas fields in the Mediterranean, and in assets in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It also owns Israel’s largest chain of fuel stations.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 9, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
