Jared Kushner cinches his first Israeli private equity deal

• It also comes as House Democrats continue to turn up the heat on Kushner over Affinity and its ties to foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
• During the Trump administration, Kushner's policy portfolio included Middle East diplomacy.
• Another member of the Trump White House, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, also raised a private equity fund backed by Saudi Arabia, but has not invested in Israel.

Driving the news: Affinity is investing $150 million for a 10% stake in the auto services unit of Shlomo Group, which operates sort of like AAA on steroids.

• Shlomo began in 1974 as a small car rental outfit, and later began offering an array of services to corporate auto fleets (e.g., leasing, roadside aid, maintenance). It later expanded into several non-auto business, in which Affinity is not taking a position.
• The company is still family owned, but has publicly traded bonds. Affinity will be its first outside equity investor.

• Expect some proceeds to go toward international expansion.

Look ahead: News recently leaked that Affinity is in talks to invest around $250 million for a 25% stake in Israel's Phoenix Insurance Agencies, and Axios has learned that papers could be signed within the month.

• Affinity's first overall deal came just over a year ago, when it backed a California solar energy fintech company called Mosaic.