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Latest Updates / Capital Markets
May 24, 2020
An Opportunity for Regulators
The Israel Securities Authority's current enforcement policy forces officers and companies that have acted in good faith to prove as much in an administrative enforcement proceeding. Check out an opinion article by Dr. Zvi Gabbay and Shir Rozenzweig published in TheMarker about how regulators can adjust this policy.
May 20, 2020
Doing Business in Israel – Practical Law
This year, we were once again responsible for preparing the QA guide on doing business in Israel for the Practical Law website. The guide provides an overview of recent key developments that have affected doing business in Israel, including the legal system, foreign investment, employment, tax, competition, privacy, IP, etc.
May 7, 2020
FIMI Acquires Control of Amiad Water Systems
FIMI Opportunity Funds, a private investment fund, recently completed the acquisition of control of public company Amiad Water Systems Ltd. Micky Barnea represented Hachoshlim Fund Cooperative Agricultural Society Ltd., Amiad's largest shareholder, in the deal. As part of the deal, FIMI agreed to invest about USD 19 million in Amiad for a share allocation, thereby acquiring 5% more of the company's shares.
May 3, 2020
Capital Markets in the Age of Coronavirus
An MA expert, Micky Barnea was interviewed by the leading newspaper Globes as part of an extensive analysis on the long list of major deals that are being canceled and the financial uncertainty in this period. The article highlights how huge corporations are able to afford what little companies and the self-employed can only dream of. According to Micky, "Starting in February, we noticed a phenomenon in which time has become elastic. Usually people strive to keep deals at a steady pace, and once the handshake is made, they want to move faster. Now, less people are hurrying to complete a deal. They are taking time to see what will happen next in the market.”
April 28, 2020
Libra 2.0 – From Global Currency to a Payment Method on Facebook’s Platform
After Libra, Facebook’s ambitious global digital currency venture, faced fierce resistance from regulators around the world, Facebook has announced “Libra 2.0.” The venture is set to undergo far-reaching changes that, on the one hand, will likely do away with regulatory concerns, but, on the other, will force Facebook to give up its original vision, i.e. a quick and simple transfer of digital currencies between accepted users worldwide without the need for a bank account.
April 19, 2020
Mobileye Insider Trading Investigation: Our Firm Represented Former Syneron VP in Settlement with SEC
On April 17, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its case against our client Amir Waldman.
Waldman, the former vice president of Israel-based medical device company Syneron Medical Ltd., was alleged to have made $4.3 million via insider trading on an autonomous driving system technology developer. He will pay the SEC nearly $2.2 million to end a civil enforcement lawsuit, a New York federal district judge announced Friday.
Zvi Gabbay commented on the decision as follows: "As in many cases, here too, a negotiation was being conducted at the same as we were preparing for trial, and it ultimately ended with an excellent result. This is a civil not a criminal case, and the arrangement, under which Amir does not admit or deny the facts, allows Amir to move on."
April 7, 2020
ISA and TASE Publish Reliefs for Public Companies and Reporting Corporations
In light of the global coronavirus crisis, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has published several steps toward easing the burden on public companies and reporting corporations whose securities are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
April 5, 2020
Israel Capital Markets Authority Adopts Zohar Lande’s Strategy to Rescue Corporate Market
Dr. Moshe Bareket, the Director General of the Israel Capital Markets Authority, has proposed postponing payments, by deferring or replacing debt in order to raise interest rates to bypass a debt settlement, as part of a rescue plan for the corporate market. His proposal is largely based on the method presented by Adv. Zohar Lande, the head of our Litigation Department, in an op-ed published earlier this week.
April 2, 2020
ISA Publishes Temporary Order on Clarification of Clients’ Needs
In response to the Corona pandemic, the ISA published on March 30, 2020, a temporary order for license holders in connection with the clarification of clients' needs.
April 2, 2020
Israel: Updates for Portfolio Managers and Investment Advisors and Marketers in Light of the Coronavirus Crisis
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) recently released a number of updates and reliefs on the obligations that apply to portfolio managers and investment advisors and marketers.
March 29, 2020
Article: Bond Market Rescue – Debt and Interest Restructuring
The coronavirus crisis is affecting both stock prices and corporate bond prices and yields in the capital market. Zohar Lande, in an article for Bizportal, explains that the Israel Securities Authority must create a “fast-track mechanism” that allows companies to choose to be included in a debt restructuring arrangement subject to the different criteria.
March 25, 2020
Cayman Islands Blacklisted by EU as a “Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdiction”
The EU announced recently, following a meeting of its Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), that the Cayman Islands has been moved to Annex 1 of the list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” for tax purposes.
March 19, 2020
Coronavirus: Is a Huge Wave of Debt Arrangement on the Way?
Micky Barnea was interviewed by Globes on the coronavirus’ effect on both the corporate and government bond markets.
March 17, 2020
The ISA Eases Obligations for Reporting Companies
The Israel Securities Authority revised its previous position and announced that in light of the exceptional circumstances, reporting corporations may submit their 2019 periodic reports until April 30, 2020.
March 4, 2020
Hedged Mutual Funds
As part of the ISA's move to make investing in hedge funds more accessible to the public and to develop mechanisms for their oversight, it published a document for public comment that details the core characteristics of two new financial products - an alternative mutual fund of the hedge fund type and hedged mutual fund of funds.
February 23, 2020
Chambers TMT Guide 2020: Law in Practice
As experts in the TMT field, our firm was asked to contribute the Israeli law and practice overview for the Chambers Israel TMT guide. In their overview, Micky Barnea, Daniel Lorber, and Anat Even-Chen discuss legal considerations for big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. They also address key data protection principles, the challenges with IT service agreements, privacy matters, and more. As a whole, the TMT guide offers insights for each jurisdiction.
February 12, 2020
Zvi Gabbay Served as Panelist in Meetup of Israeli Blockchain Community
Dr. Zvi Gabbay participated today in a panel entitled "Regulations and Securities, Where Are We?" The panel was part of an event focused on 2020 predictions for the blockchain industry in Israel. Dozens of entrepreneurs and leading players from the local blockchain community attended.
February 5, 2020
Article: Cases against Netanyahu Will Have Precedential Effect on Corporate Governance in Israel
Dr. Zvi Gabbay published an op-ed in TheMarker, discussing how the Israel State Attorney's guideline on indicting and sanctioning corporations will guide the decision on the prosecution of Bezeq, Walla, and Yedioth Ahronoth.
February 3, 2020
Israel Securities Authority Moving to Reduce Insurance Costs for License Holders
In an attempt to reduce insurance costs for License Holders, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has recently implemented several changes.
February 2, 2020
Israel Securities Authority Promotes the Assimilation of Technological Innovation into the Israeli Capital Market
The ISA's commission for examining the regulation necessary for the advancement of digital markets published a report that focuses on platforms for the issuing, trading, and clearing of securities that make use of blockchain technology.