Insights & News

We represent the AFI group in a transaction for the construction two office buildings in Romania. The matter value is 50 Million Euro

On July 29, 2015 the Knesset passed an Amendment to the Encouragement of R&D in the Industry Law.

Micky Barnea, who specializes in advising companies of all sizes and from all industries: venture capital funds, entrepreneurs, and Israeli and international investors in technology and life sciences, refers  in "Globes" on the benefits of the new R & D Law.

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.

A precedential ruling by the Supreme Court has held that a foreign company can be liquidated in Israel.

Adv. Zohar Lande commented on this decision as follows: "The Supreme Court has extended the existing boundaries of the application of Israeli liquidation law to foreign companies."

Following the declaration by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, regarding the possibility of opening for the first time of a casino in Israel, the exclusive Gambling Compliance Magazine interviewed us. Our Head of Internet Department states that: "There is a higher probability for this to succeed this time. The reason for that being that due to the economic situation in Israel (and generally in the world), the government is seeking additional sources of income, which a casino could bring."

The winner of the  "Start up Open" competition is "Lishtot" an Israeli startup which has developed technology that indicates in 2 seconds if water is polluted, thereby reducing the risks of drinking polluted water. The event was held at Hansen House in Jerusalem.

Barnea was involved with the competition from inception for the second year, together with the Jerusalem Development Authority, JNext, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Prime Minister's Office, MIT Enterprise Forum of Israel and others. 

 

 

The UK real estate investment company, Tonstate Group, is suing the PBC Group and its partners for GBP 88.5 million (approximately NIS 500 million) in the UK courts.

Tonstate is represented in the UK by the law firm, Rosling King. Zohar Lande of Barneais assisting Rosling King in the action.

We were chosen to be the author of the Israeli chapter of "Lexology Navigator - Employment & Labour".

In this exclusive chapter, we provide a market and regulatory overview in respect of Israel.

Lexology is a web-based service that provides company law departments and law firms with a depth of free practical know-how that would be impossible to produce internally. Lexology has become the pre-eminent online source of legal news, updates and analysis for more than 242,000 lawyers worldwide.

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)

Marie Tsion, head of employment department, was interviewed by Globes.

Kibbutz Shefayim filed a request yesterday to the Tel Aviv District Court to declare Yehuda Doron, the former treasurer of Kibbutz Shefayim, as bankrupt, if he does not pay within one week the sum of NIS 14.6 million. This amount represents the majority of the money in respect of which Doron was convicted of theft. 

The Ministry of Finance has published data showing a 42% surge in apartment purchases to a record 16,100 apartments in June. This " wave of sales" is a result of  investors trying to buy before implementation of the new purchase tax. Maya Zisser Ben Tal, partner in the real estate department, was interviewed by some leading newspapers and websites – Globes, Calcalist, Ynet and Bizportal, saying that she doubts if the new purchase tax will eventually reduce high prices in the housing market.

The Ministry of Finance has published data showing a 42% surge in apartment purchases to a record 16,100 apartments in June. This " wave of sales" is a result of  investors trying to buy before implementation of the new purchase tax. Maya Zisser Ben Tal, partner in the real estate department, was interviewed by some leading newspapers and websites – Globes, Calcalist, Ynet and Bizportal, saying that she doubts if the new purchase tax will eventually reduce high prices in the housing market.

Following the chaos expected from Tel Aviv light rail work, some employers are trying to find creative solutions for their employees.
Barnea was interviewed by a leading economic show on the 2nd TV Channel, as an employer which takes care of its employees.

Controlling shareholders and company managers complain about the stifling regulation, low turnover, high costs, the intervention in determining wages, and a negative image following the social protests. The leading newspaper, TheMarker, interviewed stock exchange experts, amongst them, Micky Barnea, to discuss why it happened, and how to stop the flight.

We represented the leading gambling company, Stride Gaming plc, in its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of InfiApps Limited. Stride Gaming plc, which is listed on AIM, acquired the entire issued share capital of InfiApps Limited, a profitable Israeli internationally-focused mobile social gaming company.

The total consideration payable for the acquisition is up to $39.2 million. Of this, an initial consideration of US$21.2 million in cash will be payable on completion, together with an additional earn-out consideration of up to $18 million payable in cash, determined by the EBITDA generated by InfiApps in the two years following completion of the acquisition.

 

Micky Barnea, Managing Partner of Barnea, was interviewed last week by Globes newspaper. Micky spoke about his personal life and earlier career. He also shared his thoughts regarding Israel’s deteriorating status in the world which is keeping some foreign investors and businesses away from Israel. To read more, please click here

The housing cabinet, headed by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, confirmed yesterday a long series of decisions made by the cabinet, relating primarily to relief on property prices.
The Financial magazine, Globes, published comments by certain real estate experts regarding these measures. One of the experts, Maya Zisser, a partner in the real estate department of our firm commented that she doubted whether the promises made will be fulfilled. 

The Israeli corporate governance rules discourage technology companies from listing on the TASE. However, with some simple steps this all can be changed.
Israel's position as the Startup Nation is reflected in the fact that multiple local technology companies are listed on the US and London Stock Exchanges. However, the TASE has never managed to make itself an attractive  target for Israeli high-tech companies. Thus, while many technology companies today prefer the purchase option of an initial public offering, such companies seeking to issue shares do not regard the TASE as an attractive or even relevant option. They prefer to turn to international exchanges.

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.