Insights & News / Simon Jaffa

Our firm represents Thermo Fisher in its participation in an $80 million financing round for CytoReason, alongside notable investors OurCrowd, Nvidia, and Pfizer. CytoReason offers therapeutic leaders molecular-level insights and advanced AI tools to support data-driven decision-making in healthcare and life sciences. Representing Thermo Fisher in this transaction are lawyers Simon Jaffa, Ariella Dreyfuss and Rahaf Awawdi .

Simon Jaffa, Yuval Lazi, Mayer Winkler, Tal Freilich, Nofar Rose David, and Dana Ben Yehuda from our firm's Corporate Department represented UK-based investment management firm One Peak Partners in its investment in Coro, an Israeli cybersecurity startup.

Shift4 Payments, an American public company, has acquired Finaro for a value of USD 575 million.

Advs. Simon Jaffa, Ariella Dreyfuss, Mayer Winkler, Harel Perlmutter, Hanna Daher, and Fadi Atallah advised on the transaction.

We represented Inven Capital, Volvo Group Venture Capital, and Ombu Group in the sale of their shares in Driivz to Vontier, a global mobility company.

Simon Jaffa, Ariella Dreyfuss, Harel Perlmutter, and Fadi Atallah from our office advised on the transaction.

Our firm advised the fashion giant GAP in its first significant acquisition of an Israeli technology startup. As part of the acquisition, CB4’s team will join Gap as full-time employees. Advs. Simon Jaffa and Ariella Dreyfuss represented the US clothing and accessories retailer. Advs. Netta Bromberg and Jacki Silbermann advised on the employment matters arising from the deal.

Our office has served as legal counsel for Niio, a unique digital art platform, since its establishment. The startup recently completed a USD 15 million fundraising round. Firm partners Simon Jaffa and Ariella Dreyfuss also represented Niio in a strategic partnership and financing agreement with Samsung Display, which will exhibit on hundreds of its frames the digital artwork Niio offers.

After a year of negotiations, Jerusalem Light Rail concessionaire Shapir Engineering and its Spanish partner CAF announced the closure of a financial agreement for the construction and operation of a network of light rail lines in Jerusalem. The project's initial financing, amounting to nearly NIS 4 billion, will be led by Bank Hapoalim, with the participation of First International Bank of Israel, investment house Altshuler Shaham, and insurance company Migdal. Our firm's Simon Jaffa and Samuel Henry Samuel represented CAF in the transaction. This is CAF's first project in Israel.

Adv. Simon Jaffa and Ariella Dreyfuss represented Knorr-Bremse, the German global market leader for braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles in its US$10 million investment in the Israeli railway safety company Rail Vision.

We represented a group of institutional lenders, including Psagot and Amitim, in a deal to finance Shikun & Binui Group's construction and operation of a power plant in Ashdod, for approx. NIS 600 million.

Amitim and Psagot were represented by Advs. Simon Jaffa, Samuel Henri Samuel, and Rotem Orbach.  

Our firm was chosen to provide the Israel section of a briefing on governmental measures taken during COVID-19 in key jurisdictions. The publication offers a general summary of the law and is aimed to assist businesses through these ever changing times.

We represented Inven Capital, a Czech-based VC fund and a shareholder in Cyberx Israel, an Israeli IoT & ICS cybersecurity startup, in Cyberx's sale to Microsoft for USD 165 million. CyberX has gained tremendous customer growth, with a number of leading companies using its IoT security platform to protect their web facilities. Cyberx has raised about USD 48 million since its inception in 2013. This is Microsoft’s eighth acquisition in Israel in the last decade.

Simon Jaffa and Dr. Zvi Gabbay take a look at the challenges and opportunities in the Israeli fintech sector in this short article.

Our firm represented Sartorius, a leading multinational corporation in the field of life science, research and development  and biopharmaceutical industry, in a transaction to acquire a majority stake in the Israeli cell culture developer Biological Industries. Sartorius acquired the majority of Biological Industries shares by way of secondary purchase of shares from the Development Company of Kibbutz Beit Haemek and private equity fund Fortissimo Capital, in consideration for USD 50 million. In addition, as part of the transaction, Sartorius and the Development Company of Kibbutz Beit Haemek signed an option to purchase/sell additional holdings in the future.

Israel is known around the world as the “Start-Up Nation.” Simon Jaffa, our founding partner, explains to PSMG how Israeli law firms must adapt to this changing technological world.

Our firm represented the Danish catering and cleaning services company ISS Global in the disposition of all its holdings in Israel. ISS was advised by Advs. Simon Jaffa, Yuval Lazi, Danny Boguslavsky, and Chen Nadir.

Our firm represented Israel Natural Gas Lines (INGL) in the conclusion of a detailed agreement with Greek company Energean for the transfer of the near shore and onshore part of the pipeline that will deliver gas from the Karish and Tanin FPSO into the Israeli national gas transmission grid. As consideration, INGL will pay Energean 369 million NIS.

Our firm represented Axcel in the acquisition of Phase One from Silverfleet Capital. Axcel is a leading Nordic private equity firm focusing on mid-market companies. It has a broad base of both Nordic and international investors.

The Lawyer magazine focused this month on the innovation scene in Israel and interviewed leading lawyers, including Simon Jaffa, to better understand the local legal environment. During the interview, Simon discussed how legislation can often lag behind technological developments. He noted that the most important job for tech lawyers is to help startup clients take calculated risks. This means not just telling clients what they can't do, but also understanding risks, evaluating potential exposure, and helping management make decisions that are right for the company.

Our firm represented Exclusive Networks in its acquisition of 70% of the shares of Israeli company Securewave Ltd, one of Israel’s leading independent cybersecurity VADs.

Our firm represented Senetas Corporation in a USD 8 million investment in the Israeli cyber company Votiro Cybersec Global Limited

Barnea advised an investor in relation to a $60 million investment in cybersecurity company Claroty. The company specializes in cybersecurity for industrial control networks.

Barnea represented ADM Capital, a UK-based investment fund, in an investment round in the Israeli plant-breeding startup Rootility.

Our firm represented Greenyard Fresh, a global market leader of fresh, frozen, and prepared fruits and vegetables, in the acquisition of 49% of Mor International.

Barnea Advised on the $703 Million Acquisition of Theramex by CVC Capital Partners. Theramex is Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' global women’s health portfolio.

Barnea represented Israeli startup EXO Technologies, a developer of GPS technology for autonomous and connected vehicle applications, in its acquisition by the American corporation Lear.

UK Israel Business is a bilateral chamber of commerce that connects British and Israeli businesses across all sectors. As part of its activity, it invited a delegation of British executives to Israel. The delegation came to explore possible investment avenues in technological projects, and visited entities in the technology scene. A final event for the delegation was held in our offices.

Barnea is hosting today Bio Capital Impact Fund, an Australian fund with vast experience in the BioTech, MedTech, and AgriTech industries. The representatives of the fund came to Israel to explore the possible investment in startups operating in those fields.

HP Inc. completed its acquisition of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s printer business in a deal valued at $1.05 billion. HP Inc. was represented by Barnea

Simon Jaffa, Founding Partner at Barnea, was interviewed by Legal Business Magazine on the risks Israeli law firms are taking when advising  startups and early-stage growth companies.

Barnea together with the UK Israel Tech Hub are hosting today a delegation from the UK, who will be visiting Israel for the first time in order to look for investment and cooperation opportunities, mainly in the Mobility field.

Barnea, together with the Israel-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, is hosting today a cocktail event to promote networking between South African businessmen living in Israel and Israeli businessmen.

Barnea is hosting today a delegation from Germany, who will be visiting Israel for the first time in order to look for investment and cooperation opportunities, mainly in the real estate and insurance tech fields.

Simon Jaffa, Founding Partner at Barnea, was interviewed by Calcalist on the opportunities for Israeli investors, created by falling real estate prices in the UK, in the wake of the Brexit referendum results

A moment before casting the Brexit votes, Simon Jaffa Founding Partner at Barnea was interview for the Jerusalem Post on the possible implications of the vote on Israeli companies having presence in the U.K.

Simon Jaffa, Founding Partner, was interviewed by i24, the Israeli online news channel, on possible implications for Israel of the impending “Brexit” vote in Britain. (Simon's interview commences at minute 16 of the link)

Simon Jaffa Adv. and Ariella Dreyfuss Adv. represented The Jeremy Coller Foundation in its donation of up to USD 50 million to the Tel Aviv University for its School of Management.

The Legal Business magazine has dedicated its April edition to Israel, with a focus on current topics and trends in the country. Simon Jaffa was interviewed regarding Israel's high- tech industry.

The British magazine "the Lawyer" published an extensive article about Israel's high- tech industry.

Several partners at leading law firms, including Simon Jaffa, were interviewed by the magazine and discussed the reasons which made Israel "the start-up nation" and about recent changes in the industry (P. 42-48).

Adv. Simon Jaffa, Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss, Adv. Itay Gura and Adv. Karin Kashi represented Covercy, a Fintech start up in the foreign exchange and remittance industry, in raising financing in a round led by SGVC

In order to assist investors in Israel and abroad make prudent and informed investment decisions, the TASE concluded an agreement with Edison Investment Research to promote a unique model that has not yet been tried in the Israeli capital market. The new model involves Edison doing independent analysis for high-tech and biomedical companies traded on the TASE. This venture will be partially sponsored by the Israeli Stock Exchange.

Barnea represented Bruker Nano, an American company, traded on Nasdaq, in its acquisition of Jordan Valley Semiconductors for $53m.

The acquisition uniquely positions Bruker to offer unmatched solutions for advanced problems in nanotechnology research and semiconductor metrology.

Adv. Simon Jaffa and Adv. Daniel Lorber represented the client.

As an M&A expert who is highly experienced in multi-jurisdictional transactions, Simon Jaffa was interviewed for the August edition of the China Business Law Journal. The article deals with China’s interests in the Middle East. Simon was selected by the Journal to represent Israel in its section on the Middle East on the strength of his prominence in Israel as an expert in the above field. To read the full article, please click here (p.109)

Israeli startup Blender announced today that it had raised $5 million from Blumberg Capital. The company has raised $3.5 million since it was founded, not including the current round. 

Corporate Live Wire held a Banking & Finance Roundtable with experts from around the world, including Simon Jaffa. The international experts examined the recent regulatory changes and developments in each expert's respective jurisdiction.

As an Israeli expert in Banking & Finance, Adv. Simon Jaffa participated in a Q&A by the leading CorporateLivewire website.  Simon reviewed the recent regulatory changes in the area, key trends expected to be seen over the coming year.

The Legal Business magazine has dedicated its April edition to Israel, with a focus on current topics and trends in the country. Michael Barnea and Simon Jaffa were interviewed regarding Chinese interest in doing business in Israel. "In some respects because of the geopolitical  limitation, there is less competition for certain deals. Investors may not face as much competition as businesses in the US and UK," says Barnea.  

As an expert in the Infrastructure and Gas industries, Simon Jaffa was interviewed by the Legal Business magazine, concerning the current uncertainty arising from the anti-trust commissioner’s intervention in the ownership structure of Israel’s gas fields, saying: 'all this uncertainty puts off foreign companies coming into Israel and investing'.

Despite the conflict in  Gaza, 2014 was an extremely busy year for Israeli Hitech M&A transactions.
Several partners at leading law firms, including Simon Jaffa, were interviewed by "The Lawyer" to review last year’s results and discuss the technology market.

Corporate Live Wire held a Mergers & Acquisition Roundtable  with five experts from around the world, including Simon Jaffa.
The international Mergers & Acquisition experts examined the latest changes and developments in each expert's respective jurisdiction.
The mergers & acquisition roundtable  provides in depth analysis of the latest trends in the M&A arena. This included topics such as the main risks and challenges facing cross-border activity, tax implications and the strength of technology-based investment in Israel.

Israel’s conflict with Hamas-controlled Gaza is escalating. The conflict broke out on July 8, when Israel launched "Operation Protective Edge" in response to Hamas launching rockets toward Israel. Is this still a place where lawyers can do international business?

Legislation intended to loosen the stranglehold of a few conglomerates on the economy is set to trigger a surge in sell-offs and overseas interest.

The recent liberalisation of Israel’s legal market may lead to an influx of foreign advisers as well as the expansion of the domestic elite, excited by the prospect of heightened deal activity.

While the UK press has widely reported on ‘fat cat’ salaries and exorbitant bonuses of some of the most senior employees of public companies in the UK, in Israel new legislation on salary levels has been introduced to curb such excesses and limit and control the monies that have been pouring into the pockets of senior executives.

The Israeli natural gas market is moving in a direction whereby it is obliged to take nationwide decisions  in order to find a balance between the public's interest and the investors interests, the local demand and the export opportunities and between the needs of the current generation and those of the future. See full article by Adv. Simon Jaffa (founding partner of Barnea & Co and head of Infrastructure and Project Finance Department) in Haaretz.

Israel, only 64 years old and home to just 7.9 million people, has produced a staggering number of start-ups, earning Tel Aviv a reputation as a center of technological innovation.
For the full article, by Adv. Simon Jaffa, please click here.

Tips for participating in a BOT Tender in Israel. by Simon Jaffa. Themarker Infrastructure Magazine, June 2012.

Barnea represented a leading European energy company regarding the establishment with Rotem Industries Ltd and Gefen Biomed Investments - two Israeli firms specialising in cutting-edge technology - in creating a joint venture to finance and support the growth of innovative start-ups in the field of renewable and alternative energy and energy-saving technologies.