Israeli food-tech investment partnership has filed a prospectus for an IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The company hopes to raise NIS 25 million, at a company valuation of NIS 25 million, after money. The offering is expected to take place within the next two weeks.
Food-tech is a hot sector worldwide with as special emphasis on plant-based proteins for meat alternatives.
Leumi Partners Underwriters will lead the IPO of the Next Food R&D Partnership, the first Israeli partnership of its kind, which will invest in food-tech companies. The advisor for the offering will be Ori Mor.
Next Food is expected to become the first R&D partnership to be traded on the Israeli stock market, following an amendment to the TASE regulations in February last year, which allowed offerings by limited partnerships engaged in R&D.
Next Food was founded by chairman Guy Rosen and CEO Chanan Schneider. Until recently, Schneider had founded and managed the Food-Tech incubator in Kiryat Shmona, whose partners included Tempo, Tnuva, and the OurCrowd accredited investment funding platform. Schneider has major experience in the venture capital and high-tech worlds: among other things he managed several startup companies, founded Indamed and was Managing Partner of the Agate venture capital fund.
Guy Rosen is Vice Chairman of Tnuva, Israel's largest food company, where he represents the kibbutzim. Rosen has major experience in leading companies and serves on the board of directors of Albaad and Altitude Investments and previous positions include Chairman of the Maayan Ventures VC Fund and active director of the Infinity Israel-China Fund.
Next Food's management team has also been joined by Ilan Hadar, who will serve as VP Business Development and CFO. Former Wissotsky CEO Nili Zur will serve as a consultant.
The major demand for food-tech is expressed in the growth in investment carried out by this industry throughout the past decade worldwide: in 2013 investment amounted to $2.2 billion while last year (2019) it was $19.8 billion. Two successful examples in this industry are Impossible Foods, a private company that has so far raised $1.2 billion and Beyond Meat, which is traded on Nasdaq with a market cap of $9 billion after increasing its value six-fold since its IPO, which took place only a year ago.
Next Food plans to invest in a number of food-tech companies without any focus on sub-sectors or any certain types of technology. The companies in which the partnership will invest will be those with proven feasibility and which are relatively close to starting sales. Next Food will assist in developing and promoting Israeli food-tech companies including the development of alternative food, producing innovative food and information technologies for this industry.
The partnership's first portfolio company is SavorEat, which develops technology for producing plant-based alternative meat using 3D printing. The partnership will invest $1.75 million with an option to increase the investment and it will lead a $3.75 million investment in the company at a company value of $7 million. The company's technology was developed by Prof. Oded Shoseyov, who serves as the company's Chief Scientist. The company has a plant-based product ready for eating and its first collaboration with one of Israel's leading hamburger chains, which has about 100 branches throughout the country.
SavoEat's new technology combines a unique method for 3D printing together with an innovative formula from plant sources and advanced cooking methods. What makes SavorEat distinct is expressed in the option of manufacturing products that are personally adapted, and which imitate the flavor and unique texture of meat (including fat, sinew, fibers and even bones) as well as a heating method, which allows the full cooking of servings.
SavorEat is beginning to operate on a market, which is expected to grow at a very fast rate: according to Barclays investment bank, the alternative meat market is currently worth $14 billion annually - 1% of the overall meat market - and in 2029 it will be worth $140 billion and represent a 10% slice of the overall meat market.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 6, 2020
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