Big-Tech 50 R&D Partnership has raised over NIS 85 million from institutional investors in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The Partnership focuses on large privately-held Israel technology companies with a company valuation of at least $250 million, and annual revenue of at least $10 million, which is growing at least 30% year-on-year.
Big-Tech 50 has already signed deals for purchasing shares of four such companies: Fundbox, Payoneer, Via and ironSource and five more deals are underway. The biggest investment, as of now, is $2 million (NIS 7 million) in Via, which has developed a ridesharing platform and had a valuation of $2.3 billion, last March.
The Partnership purchases existing shares from the company's current shareholders, as is normally done by private secondary funds. Big-Tech 50 Partnership plans investing the capital raised in the IPO in 15 target companies over the next year, with the size of each investment of up to $2 million, rising over time to $5 million, with plans to reach a holding of NIS 1 billion in 50 companies, within two years. This is the first investment instrument of its kind on the TASE.
Big-Tech 50 R&D plans to create an index of the 50 biggest privately-held technology companies in Israel and allow investment in them, while they are in their pre-IPO phase or before they are sold to giant international companies. .
Big-Tech 50 is led by entrepreneurs and managers with major experience in Israel's high-tech and venture capital markets: chairman and co-controlling shareholder in the Partnership is Arik Czerniak, who founded Supersonic, which was sold to Israeli company ironSource for about $200 million, five years ago and currently serves as Managing Partner in Israeli venture capital fund Axon Ventures; CEO in the Partnership is Yochai Zeid, formerly CEO of the ISP Finance Group and Deputy CEO of Gett Israel (formerly Get Taxi) and a consultant at international consultancy firm McKinsey.; Director and joint controlling shareholder is Tzahi Sultan, Chairman of Discount Capital Underwriting and with more than 30 years of experience in Israel's capital market.
Institutional investors took part in the offering, which was conducted through Discount Capital Underwriting, Value Base Underwriting and the distributor of the offering was M. D. Premium. The offering was supported by Advs. Itay Brafman and Adi Ron of the Zeev Holender law firm.
Zeid said, "The results of the successful IPO demonstrate major confidence in the vision that we presented. The capital raised will help us to invest in other private tech companies, 'to make them accessible' to the market, with the aim of creating added value for investors. Shareholders in tech companies worth more than $250 million are invited from now on to contact us."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 4, 2021
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021