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January 12, 2022
Will Israel Enter the MSCI Europe?
The global stock index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) recently announced it is seeking market feedback on Israel’s possible inclusion in its European indices. MSCI, considered one of the largest stock index providers in the world, plans to announce a decision by the end of February 2022.
January 11, 2022
Regulating Israeli Banks’ Provision of Services to Licensed Cryptocurrency Service-Providers
The Bank of Israel is proposing to regulate the provision of services to licensed cryptocurrency service-providers so that banks will not be able to sweepingly refuse to provide service and will have to formulate a risk management policy.
January 10, 2022
Dramatic Ruling on Excessive Pricing: District Court Denies Two Motions to Certify Class Actions against Tnuva
In December 2021, the Jerusalem District Court dismissed two motions to certify a class action against the leading dairy manufacturer in Israel, Tnuva, for charging excessive prices. Both the motion and the dismissal are part of an intense dispute for years. The dispute revolves around whether the prohibition of a monopolist charging an “unfair” price applies to charging excessive fees. In 2014, the director-general of the Competition Authority published a public statement on the prohibition of excessive pricing by a monopoly.
January 10, 2022
Corporate Law Between Theory and Practice
Adv. Ilan Blumenfeld lectured to students at the College of Management on mergers and acquisitions and the various stages of MA transactions.
January 5, 2022
Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry Takes Major Step to Ensure Environmental Rehabilitation per Polluter Pays Principle
The Knesset Finance Committee, headed by MK Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beitenu), recently approved a mechanism for compensation for the rehabilitation of industrial waste damages caused by Rotem Amfert (of the ICL Group). The committee arrived at the mechanism as part of discussions on the extension of the phosphate mining concession currently granted to the company.
January 4, 2022
jumpTAU Accelerator and Barnea Embark on New Cycle
A new cohort of Tel Aviv University’s jumpTAU accelerator program has begun. The accelerator supports multicultural ventures to promote cooperation between Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs. Our firm advises the accelerator as part of a broader collaboration with Tel Aviv University. At a meeting held today, we presented several topics relevant to early-stage ventures: Adv. Itay Gura spoke about startup financing, and Adv. Anat Even-Chen discussed website regulations and privacy policies.
January 3, 2022
Representing Migdal in USD 20 Million Investment
Migdal is investing USD 20 million in Tipa, an Israeli cleantech company that develops and markets compostable flexible packaging solutions for food and other consumer goods. Our firm is advising Migdal, which participated in Tipa’s investment round alongside Millennium Food-Tech and Meitav Dash. Adv. Itay Gura and Adv. Inbar Katzir represented Migdal in the transaction.
January 3, 2022
Will NFTs Push Regulators to Regulate the Metaverse?
Currently, most regulators and governments are on the fence with regards to NFTs, waiting to see what other jurisdictions do or how the market develops. In some instances, governments and regulators are trying to address this issue more actively, but with very different outcomes.
January 2, 2022
Lawsuit Against Berggruen Residential Limited and Hajaj-Cohen Investments
Our firm represents the tenants’ representatives and 189 apartment owners in the Meier on Rothschild luxury project in a lawsuit against the project’s entrepreneur and founder, Berggruen Residential Limited, and Hajaj-Cohen Investments. The ILS 2.8 million lawsuit alleges that serious defects and deficiencies were discovered in the project.
December 30, 2021
Privacy Protection Laws in Israel – Outlook for 2022
The legislation of privacy protection laws in Israel has shifted into high gear and is beginning to close the gap with legislation in Europe. A major step in this direction occurred about a month ago when the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a series of legislative amendments designed to adapt the Privacy Protection Law to the consumers, technologies, and trends of 2022.
December 28, 2021
Tax Refunds for Salaried Employees
Tax refunds are not just a matter for the self-employed. In an interview with Israel Hayom to mark the end of the tax year, Adv. Harel Perlmutter, the head of our firm’s Tax Department, provides valuable advice on the subject.
December 27, 2021
Lecture: The Practice of Environmental Law
We lectured today to members of the "Law and Environment" student club at Bar-Ilan University, addressing the practice of environmental law and analyzing precedent-setting judgments involving the environment.
December 23, 2021
I Shared Someone Else’s Photo on Instagram. Did I Commit Copyright Infringement?
Sharing images on Instagram and other social network platforms is such a common practice that we do it without hardly even thinking about it. But we must be aware that sharing a piece of creative content (picture, text, etc.) has implications in terms of copyright laws.
December 21, 2021
Barnea Represents Ness in Acquisition of DXC's Operations for USD 65 Million
Our firm is representing Ness Technologies, owned by Hilan, a TASE-traded software company, in a transaction to acquire 100% of the share capital of DXC Technology's IT services company in Israel (formerly EDS). The scope of the transaction is USD 65 million, and its completion is expected at the end of the first quarter of 2022. Adv. Micky Barnea, Adv. Yuval Lazi, Adv. Mayer Winkler, and Adv. Dana Ben-Yehuda represent Ness in the transaction.
December 20, 2021
Legal Tools for Your Venture’s Success
Adv. Yuval Lazi will lecture today on the necessary legal tools to ensure a venture’s success, as part of the entrepreneurship program WE - Women Entrepreneurship. WE promotes women, primarily female students and alumni, in the entrepreneurship field. It operates on various campuses, including Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University, the Technion, Reichman University, and the College of Management.
December 16, 2021
Representing Azrieli Group against MOH Plan to Mark Vaccinated People with Bracelets in Malls
As part of a new wave of COVID-19 restrictions, the Israeli Ministry of Health sought to implement a plan to mark vaccinated people with bracelets in all malls and shopping centers, thereby allowing them to walk freely around such complexes, as opposed to unvaccinated people. The Azrieli Group, through Adv. Zohar Lande, Adv. Eran Winner, Adv. Anat Even-Chen, Adv. Ido Vakshi, and Adv. Gaya Tsarfati, sent an urgent appeal to the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Health, Economy and Industry, and Justice, and the Attorney General. In the appeal, we argued that the plan is “discriminatory, offensive, unreasonable, and disproportionate.” In light of the criticism, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health have decided to walk back the bracelet plan and not include it in the government vote for implementing the Green Pass in malls.
December 15, 2021
Shareholder Dispute at SeeTree Startup
Adv. Eyal Nachshon and Adv. Shachar Rothschild represent the minority shareholders of the SeeTree startup. The minority shareholders, who until recently held 3.8% of the company’s shares, claim in the lawsuit we filed that their holdings were diluted to 3.074%, depriving them of their rights, while the majority shareholders exceeded their authority and violated obligations to them. The startup completed a sixth round of funding this year at a value of USD 70 million.
December 14, 2021
Accessibility Requirements for Public Company Reports – Advising the Association of Publicly Traded Companies
Our firm is advising the Association of Publicly Traded Companies vis-a-vis the Ministry of Justice, the Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities, and the Israel Securities Authority regarding accessibility requirements for public company reports. From the legal review we prepared for the client, we determined there is no place or justification, even from a broad international perspective, to impose accessibility requirements on companies with regard to public company reports, or to allow private enforcement in the form of class action lawsuits against public companies.
December 12, 2021
Do You Own Crypto? AML Order Also Applies to Digital Currencies
For the first time, companies providing virtual currency services will be required to comply with Israeli anti-money laundering provisions. This follows an amendment to the Prohibition of Money Laundering Order that recently came into effect. The amendment will apply to financial asset service providers obligated to hold a license under the Control of Financial Services Law.
December 12, 2021
Barnea Represents Natoon Group in ILS 90 Million Sale
Adv. Sagi Gross, Adv. Daniel Kleinman, and Adv. Izabel Pashayev represented Natoon Group and its shareholders in a sale of control of 70% of the group's holdings to Afcon Holdings, a public company. Natoon Group is engaged in asset management and operation services and the maintenance of fire safety systems.