Although the high-tech world is agog with the possibility of a merger between Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) in order to jointly wage war against search engine giant Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), at the Matam High-Tech Park in Haifa, the R&D centers of all three companies will soon sit side by side.
Yahoo! will soon set up its first branch in Israel. The company will rent a 350-square meter office at Matam at NIS 60 per sq.m. per month under a two-year lease. The company has also rented parking spaces at NIS 400 per space per month. Yahoo! will join other international giants at Matam, such as Google, Microsoft, Intel Inc. (Nasdaq: INTC), Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI), and Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) (which recently rented 3,300 square meters to expand its R&D center), as well as Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) and Zoran Corp. (Nasdaq: ZRAN).
IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) unit Bayside Land Corp. Ltd.(Gav Yam) (TASE: BYSD1) owns 50.1% of Matam. The high-tech park is located at the southern entrance to Haifa, adjacent to the Coastal Highway (Road no. 2), Road no. 4, the Carmel tunnels (now under construction), and the Tel Aviv-Haifa railway, which has a station nearby. The park has 185,000 square meters of built-up space, which is fully occupied, and has an additional 60,000 square meters under construction.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 11, 2008
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