Yitzhak Tshuva, the controlling shareholder of Delek Group (TASE: DELKG) and Isracard (TASE: ISCD) is set to acquire a 27% stake in the Medical Center chain, which currently only operates Herzliya Medical Center, at a company valuation of NIS 1.1 billion. The shares will be purchased from Yair Landau, currently the controlling shareholder in the private hospital along with the Clalit Health Fund and Clal Insurance Enterprise Holdings (TASE: CLIS). After the deal, Clalit will be the largest shareholder in the hospital with 40%, Tshuva and Landau will each hold 27%, and Clal Insurance will hold 6%.
Tshuva is expected to continue investing in the hospital network and establish at least one more hospital, with sources close to the deal estimating that the direction is expansion into the periphery as well.
The relationship between health funds and hospitals is tightening
This deal is part of a series of changes in ownership of private and public hospitals in Israel, as more hospitals are working to operate as a nationwide network, and the relationship between health funds and private and public hospitals is tightening.
Historically, Clalit owned a network of public hospitals, and since 2008 has also been a large shareholder in Medical Center, whose operations are relatively small and focused on the private market. Maccabi Health Fund owns the private Assuta network, which is gradually transferring more of its public operations to it, while the Leumit and Meuhedet have not in the past had hospitals. In recent years, Maccabi has established the public hospital Assuta Ashdod, and Leumit and Meuhedet have been awarded ownership of the new public hospital in the Negev.
A week ago, “Globes” reported on the vision of the new Medica hospital chain, owned by Leumit and Meuhedet health funds and the Phoenix and Harel insurance companies, together with a group of investors led by businessman Zvi Barinboim. This chain, which already includes four medical centers in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Afula, is aiming for nationwide expansion.
In the background is the reform that limited private health services from public hospitals, while at the same time allowing health funds to purchase services from private hospitals. For example, the Medica chain revealed that half of its revenue is private and about half come from health funds.
Now all Israel’s health funds have connections to private and public hospitals. Meanwhile, three major insurance companies in the health insurance market (including Phoenix, which was previously owned by Yitzhak Tshuva) also have a holding in a private hospital. The large public hospitals are also trying to expand into community activities and large emergency centers in order to expand into nationwide activity, and are also starting to offer home hospitalization services, which are eating into community activity. In other words, there is vigorous competition to gain market share in the medical service sector.
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Opportunity to expand services to additional areas
From Clalit’s perspective, it already has hospitals nationwide, so its needs are already met, and it generally prefers to send its patients to its own hospitals. On the other hand, the expansion of Medical Center could allow it to expand its treatment offerings in specific areas in demand areas, without making the full investment in infrastructure at its own expense.
Sources close to the deal said that from the perspective of the other investors in the chain, there is a clear opportunity in bringing fully private healthcare services to other areas of the country, where the supply of these services is low.
Medical Center’s Herzliya Medical Center (HMC), was founded in 1982, and operates a 9,000 square meter hospital in Herzliya, which performs 26,000 surgical procedures annually. The hospital has a broad license to operate in all surgical fields. In 2016, Clal acquired 10% of the hospital, at a valuation of NIS 700 million.
Tshuva was represented in the deal by Advs. Amnon Epstein, Ron Abelski, and Michal Gazit-Molcho of ERM law firm. Landau was represented by Advs. Itzhak Narkiss and Sivan Narkis-Kremer of the Firon Law Firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 4, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
