Bill Ackman buys stake in Tel Aviv’s stock exchange in ‘strong vote of confidence’ for Israeli economy | CNN Business (2024)

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Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman are buying a stake in Tel Aviv’s stock market in what the exchange said Wednesday was a “strong vote of confidence” in Israel’s economy.

The couple have agreed to buy a stake of nearly 5% in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), joining other buyers of around 17 million shares in total, the exchange said in a statement. The TASE expects the sale to generate $65 million in proceeds, which it plans to invest in its technology infrastructure, it said.

The share sale drew “robust interest” from investors in Israel, the United States, Europe and Australia, the bourse said, “reflecting a strong vote of confidence in both the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the Israeli economy at large.”

Ackman, the founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, made his name betting against stocks. But his latest investment suggests he is optimistic about the prospects for Israeli companies despite the country’s ongoing war against Hamas.

The value of stocks listed on the exchange has swung wildly since October 7, the day Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel. Overall, however, the TASE has gained almost 13% since that date.

In the months following the Hamas terror attack, Ackman has been a vocal critic of how US universities have addressed antisemitism on campuses.

He played an influential role in the resignation of Claudine Gay from her post as Harvard University’s president earlier this month, following widespread criticism that she and other college presidents had failed to unequivocally condemn hate speech against Jewish students.

He also accused Gay of plagiarism in her academic work, a claim that has made his wife —also an academic — a target for scrutiny. A report by Business Insider in early January alleged that Oxman had plagiarized parts of her doctoral dissertation. Both Gay and Oxman have denied the claims against them.