Israel Desks - February 2020 Edition

15 a real leader in R&D/innovation,” adds Lustman. One of Israel’s powerhouse law firms, Tadmor Levy & Co. agrees. “Israel’s tech scene continues to be a lucrative target for investments and acquisition opportunities, with many of the investors in and acquirers of Israeli companies U.S.-based, including strategic players, venture capital and private equity firms,” add s Elie Sprung, Partner and Head of Hi-Tech and Venture Capital at the firm. “Industries that continue to be of interest to U.S. investors and acquirers include cybersecurity, fintech, automotive and transportation technology and health-tech. “This past year saw the acquisition of Habana Labs by Intel (USD2 Billion), Click Software by Salesforce (USD 1.35 Billion) and Lumenis by Baring Private Equity (USD 1.2 billion),” points ou t Yaniv Aronowich, Partner and Co-Head of M&A at Tadmor Levy. The deals do not stop there. “We acted for General Atlantic in its Israeli debut, leading investments in in AppsFlyer (USD 210 Million) and in Riskified (USD 165 Million), both at valuations exceeding USD1 Billion,” Sprung continued. For Israeli entrepreneurs and businessmen, the gargantuan U.S. market presents an overwhelming array of options and considerations. “It’s a bit of a cliché to suggest that Israeli businessmen looking to break into the U.S. should focus on tech start-ups and Silicon Valley, but we live in a digital age and tech is surely one of the strongest card’s Israel has to play in the international economic arena,” points out Rosen. Lustman refers to some landmark transactions: “McDonalds and Dynamic Yield; Apple’s explosive expansion in Israel both on the M&A front, but also the development side” but, outside of tech, there was also Pepsi’s acquisition of SodaStream. “Taking the food and beverage market as an example, the opportunities for Israeli food companies in the U.S. are enormous,” adds Ariel Yehezkel, l eader of Sheppard Mullin’s Corporate and Securities practice group in New York. “Historically, many of the Israeli food and beverage companies entered the U.S. market by using local U.S. brokers who purchased the products from the Israeli company and then sold those products to local retailers in the U.S. (either under the Israeli company’s brand name or under the broker’s brand name). On the one hand, the practice of using a local broker might be one of the least expensive ways to enter the U.S. market, on the other hand, though, using a broker prevents the Israeli company from substantially expanding its footprint in the U.S.,” he said.