One of the most anticipated Israeli IPOs of 2014 took place on Friday when ReWalk Robotics Ltd.(Nasdaq:RWLK), (formerly Argo) raised $36 million on Nasdaq. The company, which has developed US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved exoskeletons that enable paraplegics to walk, sold 3 million shares for $12 each at a company value of $136 million. This was a disappointment because the company had originally aimed to raise $58 million at a company value of $250-300 million, after money, by selling 4 million shares at $13-14 each.
However, after the IPO the share price more than doubled, rising 113.33% in its first day of trading to $25.60, and was up a further 5.08% in after-market trading to $26.90.
The company may also receive a further $5.5 million with underwriters including Barclays Capital and Jefferies having an option to buy an additional 450,000 shares.
Founded in 2001, the company has marketed the product in hospitals earning $1.6 million revenue in 2013 and a loss of $12.2 million. The device costs $60-70,000.
The product was developed by Dr. Amit Goffer, 61, the company Founder and President and VP CTO who had previously founded Odin, which was sold to Medtronic for $9 million. Before he had founded Odin back in 1997, Dr. Goffer was involved in an accident that left him paralyzed. Ways of getting out of his wheelchair led him to set up Argo. Gofer holds a 3.7% stake in ReWalk.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 14, 2014
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