There was much speculation about what former Teva CFO Dan Suesskind would do after his retirement from the company last month. It seems that he has found a new partner - billionaire Professor Shlomo Ben-Haim.
Suesskind and Ben-Haim have launched a road show to raise $150 million for a joint fund that will invest in medical devices companies, Ben-Haim's specialty, and possibly also in pharmaceutical companies, which are Suesskind's expertise. They will raise the money in bonds, in an offering underwritten by Migdal Capital Markets Ltd.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that the venture will raise capital in both Israel and other countries, including tens of millions of dollars from Israeli financial institutions. The institutions have long supported both Suesskind and Ben-Haim and the market is clearly interested in their venture.
Suessking was CFO at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) for 32 years. He currently serves as a director at Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL), Ness Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: NSTC), and Syneron Medical Ltd. (Nasdaq: ELOS). Until now, he made no mention of any other interests; on the contrary, he implied that he would go into full retirement. It seems that he changed his mind with Ben-Haim's proposal.
Suesskind is one of Israel's best known CFOs and is highly regarded in the financial community.
Ben-Haim is a cardiologist, serial entrepreneur, and investor in medical devices. He was a co-founder of several companies that were sold for more than $1 billion, including urology stent maker Instent, cardiology equipment maker Biosense, X-Technologies, and Disc-o-Tech Medical Technologies. His activities, mainly in the late 1990s, created a strong standing for Israel in the invasive medical devices industry.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 23, 2008
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