Sources inform ''Globes'' that international battery manufacturer Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR), has acquired more than 10% of Israeli semiconductor company Techtium Ltd. at a company value of $50 million after money. This means that Energizer has invested around $5 million. The two companies also signed a commercial distribution agreement. The investment was made back in April but Techtium did not announce it until today, in accordance with its confidentiality agreement with Energizer. Techtium founder and president Dr. Guy Weinstein confirmed to “Globes” today that Energizer had invested in his company but refused confirm any details of the deal.
The current investment constitutes the exercising of an option that Energizer had following a joint development agreement it signed with Techtium eighteen months ago. Energizer also has an option on further investment in Techtium. Aside from Energizer, the company’s current shareholders are two private Israeli investors resident in the US, Maccabi Haifa football club chairman and Israel Phoenix board member Yaakov Shachar, Israel Discount Bank, Elite and Phoenix board member Dr. Arie Ovadia, Pontifax managing partner Ran Nussbaum, and retail product distributor Danshar. Techtium was founded by Weinstein, along with CTO Dror Manor.
Techtium produces a chip for management of power from different sources for handheld devices. The chip enables power supply to a handheld device from a rechargeable internal battery, from an external rechargeable battery, and from a regular disposable battery such as can be bought at any newsstand or corner store. “Our device can be used to instantly charge a cellular device by buying a disposable battery,” says Weinstein. The company defines its products as “bringing absolute mobility to the wireless and portable device world.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 17, 2006
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