Jay Schottenstein, chairman of American Eagle Outfitters and DSW (formerly Designer Shoe Warehouse) is in talks to acquire control of the basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv, at a value of $35 million, Calcalist reported on Sunday.
The club’s major shareholders are David Federman, controlling shareholder of publicly traded Petrochemical, and the Recanati family, the former controlling shareholder of IDB – each of whom holds 29% of the club’s shares. American businessman Richard Dietze holds 17.5% of the shares, American real estate magnate Ben Ashkenazi holds 10% of shares.
The team’s annual budget is about $75 million. The team has failed to make it to the EuroLeague quarter finals (it was eliminated after the Regular season), which could leave it with a deficit of about $5 million for the year. The Israeli League season was just as big a disaster, when Maccabi was eliminated in the semifinal for the second season in a row, this time by the eventual champions, Maccabi Rishon LeZion.
Nevertheless, with six European Championships, one Adriatic Championship, 51 Israeli Championships, 44 Israeli Cups, and six League Cups, Maccabi Tel Aviv has been the most successful basketball team in Israel. It is also one of the most successful basketball teams of all time.
The Schottenstein family’s wealth is estimated at $2 billion. Jay Schottenstein himself owns about 3% of American Eagle Outfitters, as well as Retail Ventures’ stake in the company. In 2015, the Schottenstein family donated $1 million to the presidential candidacy of John Kasich. Jay and his family are the main contributors to the Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud.