Israel Desks - February 2020 Edition

21 Biggest and Best – Round up of Top Tech Deals “High-Tech, including cyber and IoT, continues to be a main driver of Israeli M&A, the industrial, retail and real estate sectors are also active, especially in the local mid-cap market” states Hai. In early 2020, Israeli cybersecurity start-up Armis, a maker of internet of things (IoT) security software, announced its acquisition by US-based Insight Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm, in a cash deal valuing the Israeli firm at USD 1.1 billion. The deal would mark the largest ever deal for a private Israeli cybersecurity firm, according to a company statement. Israeli chipmaker snapped up for mere USD 2 billion It was a happy new year also at Intel, back shopping in Israel again following its USD 15 billion acquisition of Mobileye, maker of autonomous car technologies in 2017. This time, in December 2019, the U.S. tech giant forked out a mere USD 2 billion for Habana Labs, the Israeli start-up and manufacturer of AI-based processors and chips, with Yigal Arnon advising both times as buyer’s counsel.Kiernan adds: "We also seemany transactions in the autonomous vehicle space since Intel's acquisition of Mobileye, which has led to sustained and tremendous interest, we are seeing a lot of activity in the AI sector and the medtech field remains vibrant and showing no signs of slowing.” Timing and Patience is Key Together with Jones Day, Yigal Arnon is also advising chipmaker Nvidia on its USD 6.8 billion acquisition of Mellanox, represented by Herzog Fox & Neeman and Latham & Watkins . Nvidia won EU regulatory approval in December 2019, a lready has U.S approval and is awaiting Chinese approval. The deal is expected to close in 2020. To hit the jackpot, timing and patience is everything. Hai said: “Mellanox created value through many years of growth both organically - including as a result of investments in R&D - and through M&A activity - for example- their acquisition of EZchip - Mellanox management and founders were not tempted to sell too early and their patience has paid off. Mellanox business performance continues to be strong after the NVIDIA deal was announced, which is a sign of strong and healthy long-term thinking.”