Amir Shriki’s real estate company, Aya New York, is withdrawing from Israel’s capital markets only eight months after raising $96 million via a bond issuance on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
The company seeks bondholder approval to redeem its Israeli debt and replace it with a U.S.-based bank loan, according to the Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist.
“Here in Israel, dealing with the bondholders is a headache and a drama that consumes valuable resources,” Shriki told the outlet in Hebrew.
A challenging journey
In February, Shriki raised about 292 million shekels, equivalent to $95.9 million at current exchange rates, for a newly formed British Virgin Islands-based company named Aya New York Limited.
Shriki owns a portfolio of properties, primarily in New York City. However, the BVI-based firm included only five properties, as stated in a prospectus filed with TASE in December 2025, which was automatically translated from Hebrew to English by The Real Deal.
Among these five, Aya pledged two Manhattan multifamily properties as collateral for bondholders: the 151-unit Renoir House at 225 East 63rd Street and Riverside, consisting of two buildings with a combined 82 units at 120-125 Riverside Drive.
In July, the company’s second-quarter financial statements revealed that some subsidiaries had entered agreements with merchant cash advance companies, selling future receivables from properties already pledged to bondholders.
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One such lender, Honest Funding, sued Shriki and a limited liability company in August in Kings County Supreme Court. They alleged that the company stopped allowing automated payments on a $200,000 advance, leaving an outstanding balance of $272,000.
The lender claimed Shriki’s LLC changed its bank account, interfering with collections and resulting in a $255,000 outstanding balance.
Shriki stated he was unaware of the liens on pledged assets and had resolved the issue. Nonetheless, holders of approximately 45 percent of the bonds appointed attorneys to represent them and alleged violations, as reported by Calcalist.
“The bondholders used it to create exposure for us,” Shriki said. “My choice was either to educate them or move on.”
Mitigating losses
Shriki, who manages the company from Israel, decided to cut his losses.
The proposed refinancing would enable Aya to repay the bonds in full, including accrued interest, within 45 days of bondholder approval.
He mentioned negotiating the proposal with major bondholders and the bond trustee.
Shriki was among many American developers who turned to Israeli bond offerings to raise capital. However, he noted that American BVI companies have fallen out of favor with Israeli investors following the troubles faced by Simad Holdings and GFI Capital in the bond market.
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In September, Mike Kohan was removed as CEO and president and forced off the board of Kohan Properties, another BVI-based entity listed on TASE. This followed the discovery of an allegedly unauthorized $4.5 million loan on five Manhattan office properties and $7.4 million in personal withdrawals.
“There’s a kind of discrimination here against BVI companies,” Shriki said, “although I understand the concerns about such companies in light of the fraud that has occurred at some of them.”
Aya’s holdings
At Renoir House, purchased in 2024 for $45 million, and Riverside, acquired the same year for $31 million, renovations led to significant rent increases in certain units, as communicated to prospective bondholders.
Both properties include rent-regulated units.
The company initially turned to Tel Aviv to refinance expensive U.S. debt, including mezzanine loans with interest rates of at least 17 percent. The Israeli offering aimed to provide cheaper capital and support further acquisitions.
Other properties under the BVI-based firm include Lady D, an under-construction hotel at 70 West 45th Street expected to open early next year, three mixed-use buildings at 321-325 West 42nd Street, and 46 units under contract at the Miami condo-hotel Altair.
“She warned me not to enter the capital market in Israel because ‘they’ll eat you alive,’” Shriki told Calcalist. “In hindsight, she was right.”
