June Edition 2021

35 Daniel Turgel at White & Case , which topped the M&A table in both value and volume, said: “M&A deal activity in the Israel market has rebounded in Q1 2021 since hitting its lowest level in 2 years in Q3 2020. What has been really interesting in Q1 2021 is that whilst there have been around 29 deals, the value reached USD 20.2 Billion, as opposed to 24 deals in Q4 2020 with a value of just USD 2.6 Billion.We believe that this climb in deal value is due to an abundance of US SPACs who are exploring markets outside of the US for their targets. Israel appears to be a prime market for them with its tech and healthcare/pharmaceutical hubs. There is lots of growth equity deals around at the moment. We are also seeing a lot of interest in both inbound and outbound to/from the UAE.” Mark Selinger a t McDermott Will & Emery LLP , which emerged in pole position in Capital Markets, pointed out: “The U.S. capital markets continue to be active for a wide range of issuers and transaction structures. In addition to traditional IPOs and follow-on offerings, registered direct offerings, confidentially marketed public offerings, PIPES and equity lines of credit continue to provide funding to Israeli companies in the life sciences, biotechnology and other industries. Furthermore, despite some recent market disruption, deSPAC transactions (ie, the merger or acquisition by a publicly traded SPAC with a private company) continue to provide an alternative to the IPO route for a wide range of companies. We continue to be active in representing issuers, underwriters, SPACs and SPAC targets in a wide variety of interesting transactions.” “We too have been quite busy in banking and finance, with Israeli companies continuing to shore up their capital structures in the buoyant capital markets and banking environments,” added Freshfields’ Waldman . “We’ve also been very active in Energy and Infrastructure, both for foreign investors into Israel and for Israeli infra investors looking to take advantage of expected growth in US and European infrastructure spending". Noyek of A&O warned: “There have been delays to some infrastructure projects as a consequence of the absence of a government [which looks as though it may self-correct soon] but nevertheless this will continue to be an area to watch. It is also noteworthy that the State of Israel made an early and successful play to shore up its finances during the pandemic.” Have there been any key developments recently that are shaping transactions?