Major shareholders in Next Vision Stabilized Systems (TASE: NXSN), which produces stabilized cameras for ground and aerial vehicles, realized shares in the company to the tune of NIS 230 million yesterday. "Globes" has learned that one of the buyers is the first foreign investor to take a significant stake in the company. The buyer, a British hedge fund, bought 2.5% of Next Vision for some NIS 192 million, while Clal Insurance bought shares to the tune of NIS 40 million, adding to its existing 6.4% holding, worth NIS 493 million.
The sale took place at NIS 88.5 per share, a price similar to yesterday’s opening price on the stock exchange. The sellers include Yosef Sandler, an investor in the company since its early days, who sold shares for NIS 44.3 million, and whose stake will fall to 8.6%; company chairperson Chen Golan, who sold shares for NIS 55 million and whose stake will fall to 5.7%; CTO Boris Kipnis, who sold shares for NIS 40 million; director Nachman Benchaya, who sold shares for NIS 39.3 million; and company CEO Michael Grosman, who sold shares for NIS 50 million.
A senior source at the company told "Globes": "This time too, we didn’t plan to sell. We received a ‘phone call informing us that there was a ‘big foreign investor’ who wanted to come into the company. We’ve seen a lot of interest by investors like these recently, and when an investor approaches us and wants to take a significant stake, then we say ‘Yes.’ It grew to such dimensions that we had to look for people who would agree to sell shares in the company. That’s what pushed us to carry out the deal.
"Our policy has been to realize shares all along the way, and as is known we have sold in the past. We want those who buy our shares to gain as well. When we decide that investors who approach us are relevant, interesting, and able to the company good, we sell, not with the aim of getting rid of shares or because we think the share price has reached a maximum. A foreign investor who wants to take a stake is good for the company, period. It indicates something good about the market and for the shareholders."
Next Vision is without doubt the most successful of the crop of flotations of 2021. The Ra’anana-based company which develops and produces day and night cameras stabilized for installation on ground and aerial vehicles such as drones, has seen its share price shoot up by 1,770% since its 2021 IPO, and it now has a market cap of NIS 7.7 billion, not far off an entry ticket to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s flagship Tel Aviv 35 Index. The determining date for the next revision of the index falls in April, and at the current rate it is not inconceivable the company will make it.
Last week, Next Vision released 2024 results showing revenue up 121% in comparison with 2023 at $115 million, overtaking the annual sales target. Net profit rose to $66 million (57.7% of revenue), 2.4 times the profit for 2023. The company declared a $33.2 million dividend. 60% of its sales last year were in Europe.
At the end of the week, the company reported a $30 million order for delivery over three years, which comes in addition to the orders backlog of $101 million reported in its financial statements. Next Visions revenue target for 2025 is $160 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 17, 2025.
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