Tech tycoon Moshe Yanai disputes $36M debt, insists portfolio value exceeds $1 billion
Yanai, a veteran tech entrepreneur, rejects insolvency claims, arguing that his holding company MII controls a high-value portfolio, including stakes in Infinidat, eToro, and other firms.
“Moshe Yanai is not insolvent—far from it. He holds rights in the holding company MII, whose portfolio value, according to a U.S. court decision, is approximately $1.1 billion and at least several hundred million dollars.” This is the claim made by high-tech entrepreneur Moshe Yanai (71) in a request to stay proceedings, which he submitted on Sunday to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court in response to a bankruptcy petition filed by investment fund Scintilla. The petition seeks to declare him bankrupt due to approximately $36 million in loans he received and has not repaid.
According to documents attached to the court file, MII is jointly owned by Yanai and his wife, Rachel, and serves as the vehicle for managing his investments in technology companies. Among MII’s assets are the Israeli data storage company Infinidat, which raised $350 million and was recently acquired by Chinese computing giant Lenovo for an undisclosed amount; shares in the trading platform company eToro, which Yanai recently sold for $17 million; cybersecurity firm KoolSpan, which, according to its website, provides services to the U.S. Department of Defense; laser sensor company Maradin from Yokneam; and biotechnology company Quris, which uses artificial intelligence to predict the success of drug development.
In the attached documents, Yanai also claims that as of December 2024, the MII fund had invested more than $222 million in a portfolio of 15 companies, most of them in Israel. For example, he notes that MII invested $51 million in Infinidat and holds a 51% stake.
Regarding other companies in which MII has invested, Yanai stated: "KoolSpan and Maradin are preparing for initial public offerings of significant value, and Arineta is in negotiations for an acquisition or merger."
The documents also reveal that Yanai and his wife own real estate in Boston, as well as a luxury apartment in Manhattan valued at approximately $7.5 million, according to mortgage documents.
In his response to the court, Yanai rejected the claims made by Scintilla, an investment fund managed by businessman Isaac Keinan, that he is insolvent and attempting to hide assets. He stated: "The request to initiate proceedings is baseless and is part of Scintilla’s improper and predatory attempt to seize control of my assets. After Scintilla was blocked by the Massachusetts court from pursuing foreclosure proceedings in the U.S., it changed course and chose to initiate legal action in Israel instead."
As part of the case, Yanai filed an affidavit citing the U.S. court decision, which states: "The MII fund holds more collateral than its outstanding obligations. The plaintiffs (Yanai and MII) provided evidence that MII's investment portfolio is worth more than a billion dollars. While the fund (Scintilla) believes this estimate is inflated, available data suggests that Yanai’s ownership stake is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars—several times more than the amount MII currently owes the fund."
Yanai also claims that Scintilla's legal actions in Israel are an illegitimate attempt to take over his business. "As part of this attempt," he argues, "Scintilla took steps to seize the collateral provided to it—shares of MII held by my wife and me—and put them up for auction. This was in addition to my removal in January from my position as director of MII and my replacement with a Scintilla-appointed representative, Boaz Toshav."
In his affidavit, Yanai further stated: "Contrary to the claims made in the petition, I have not hidden any assets. The assets mentioned in the application belong to MII, not to me personally, and they were not 'hidden' in any way." He added: "I have already informed Scintilla that MII has the ability to repay the debt through an alternative financing arrangement."
