High-profile case9/6/2026

Maccabi Co-Owner Challenges Transfer of Shares to Jason Levin

Richard Dietz, co-owner of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club, initiated arbitration proceedings in the Tel Aviv District Court following the Recanati family's sale of its shares to businessman Jason Levin. The dispute has become part of the owners' struggle for control of the club, but its legal outcome remains unknown.

Key facts

•Applicant: Richard Dietz
•Court: Tel Aviv District Court
•Disputed Recanati family shareholding: 29%
•Additional Ben Ashkenazi shareholding: 9%
•Transfer to Levin being challenged: 7.5%
•The case number and exact filing date were not specified

How the Dispute Arose

Jason Levin was due to receive 29% of Maccabi Tel Aviv's shares from the Recanati family. Richard Dietz exercised his right of first refusal and announced that he would purchase this block of shares, as well as an additional 9% that co-owner Ben Ashkenazi intended to sell to Levin. Club chairman Shimon Mizrahi subsequently announced that he, too, would exercise this right: under the original agreement among the owners, he must purchase more shares than Dietz, thereby preventing Dietz from becoming the club's largest shareholder.

What Dietz Is Challenging

According to Dietz, Udi Recanati canceled a planned shareholders' meeting and announced a unilateral transfer of 7.5% of the club's shares to Jason Levin. Dietz claims that this violates the shareholders' agreement and is part of efforts to transfer control of the club to Levin. This is the position of one party to the dispute; the source does not cite a court or arbitrator's ruling confirming these claims.

What Remains to Be Decided

The proceedings are expected to determine the consequences of the sale and transfer of the shares in light of the agreement among the owners and the rights of first refusal they declared. The publication did not specify the case number, the date of the court hearing, the specific remedies sought by Dietz, or any interim relief granted. The final outcome of the dispute was also not reported.

What this means for you

For co-owners of Israeli companies, this dispute illustrates the practical importance of shareholders' agreements and the rights of first refusal enshrined in them when holdings are sold. A transfer of shares that does not follow the agreed procedure may become the subject of legal or arbitration proceedings, but the legality of the parties' actions in this case has not yet been determined.

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Case analysis based on court rulings