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Latest Updates / International Sanctions
August 17, 2020
Adv. Niv Polani, Retired Bank Hapoalim Executive, Joins Barnea Jaffa Lande
Adv. Niv Polani has more than thirty years of experience in the legal and banking worlds. He held several senior positions at Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest banks, including Vice General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Vice President, and Head of Corporate Development. Niv also served as the General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs of one of Israel’s leading credit card companies. Niv joins Barnea Jaffa Lande as an of counsel and will focus on developing and strengthening the firm's activities in the banking and payments fields.
August 13, 2020
Supreme Court Reduces Protection for New Apartment Buyers
A new Supreme Court ruling determines that a warning note may not be used as collateral for buyers of apartments in a TAMA 38 project in Ramat Gan in which the developer went bankrupt. In light of the ruling, Elder Adato, the head of our Real Estate Department, was interviewed by Calcalist. He commented: "In dozens of TAMA 38 projects all over the country, the only collateral home buyers received until now was a warning note. These warning notes were primarily intended to ensure the money of home buyers. It is important to note that this ruling applies only to a specific event, in which the contractor collapsed and the warning notes constituted an 'onerous asset' for the completion of the project. "
August 11, 2020
Israel Securities Authority: Distributors May Be Liable for the Contents of a Prospectus
The Israeli Securities Authority has announced that distribution entities now may be liable for the contents of a prospectus. In a staff position paper published in late July, the ISA changed the rules of the game in the underwriting field by determining that a distributor, or an entity associated with a distributor, that purchases securities during an issuance and sells them within a short period of time (six months or less) shall be viewed by the ISA as an underwriter and shall be liable for the prospectus.
August 11, 2020
Using Open Source in Your Business? Beware the Fine Print
Open source code is written by developers and for developers. The concept behind open source is to allow access to many developers and promote collaboration between them.
August 10, 2020
Providing Counsel in the Establishment of a New Investment Fund in Asia
Liquidity Fund of Meitav Dash will establish with MUFG Bank, the world’s largest Japanese bank, a new private investment fund in Asia. The new fund will be incorporated in Singapore, and will provide credit to companies in Asia, through securitization transactions of future cash flows. Our firm, led by attorneys Roy Engel and Yuval Lazi, accompanied Liquidity, which as part of the agreement will provide the joint company with management and underwriting services.
August 10, 2020
Real Estate Investors: What to Know about Purchasing an Apartment Following the Decision to Lower Purchase Tax Rates
The Ministry of Finance has announced reduced tax rates for the purchase of an apartment for investment. How much will you pay and how can you choose the right tax payment route for you? Check out Liat Keisary’s guide for investors published by Mako.
August 5, 2020
Barnea Representing Original Shareholders the Topaz Family in Sale of Holdings in Keystone Group
About a year and a half after the investment fund Accelmed, which is managed by Uri Geiger, announced the merger of the company it controls, American Keystone Group, with the Israeli Paltop company, controlled by Shmuel Topaz, it is now acquiring the entire holdings in Paltop for NIS 100 million. This ends the conflict between the investor groups of Paltop and Accelmed. We represented the Topaz family and the Paltop investors.
August 4, 2020
Service Users Must Now Hold Hearing Procedures for Service Providers’ Employees
The National Labor Court recently handed down an important ruling that concerns many employers in the market engaged with service provider companies. The National Labor Court ruled that although there were no employee-employer relations between the employee and its employer in this matter, the service user still had to take part in the employee’s termination and hearing process, in addition to the obligation of the direct employer to hold the hearing.
August 3, 2020
Barnea Represented Azrieli Group in Launch of New Fashion Website
Azrieli Group and MGS have launched a retail website to sell fashion and footwear products. This is the first time Azrieli has set up a company together with a retailer. The deal was led by Sagi Gross.
August 2, 2020
What Employees Need to Know About Stock Options
In a short video, Adv. Yuval Lazi explains the guiding principles in granting options, how you can estimate how much the options are worth, and what is important for an employee to know when he receives options.
August 2, 2020
It Is Time to Come Back Home: Investors Can Now Enjoy a Reduced Purchase Tax
Israeli Minister of Finance Israel Katz’s plan to reduce purchase tax for investors has gone into effect. Until now, under plans advanced by the previous Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, for lowering housing prices and pushing investors out of the real estate market, the purchase tax for investors went up from 5% to 8% for an apartment that was not the purchaser's sole apartment.
July 30, 2020
Expanding to International Markets – Is Your Business Ready?
Micky Barnea was invited to be a guest speaker in a webinar held on July 30 presented together with CoWrks Foundry (an India-based accelerator), RIHub (US-based innovation hub), and Brown University. Micky discussed the legal aspects of introducing a startup to the international market.
July 29, 2020
Labor Law - An Important Update for Employers
There have been a few recent updates to statutory provisions and administrative procedures regarding employees and employers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
July 29, 2020
Privacy Evolution: Europe v. Israel
A July decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union has established that in light of the fact the United States does not respect the privacy of its citizens in accordance with EU standards, the Privacy Shield mechanism allowing for personal data transfers between Europe and the US can no longer be relied upon. At the same time, in Israel, the Ministry of Justice has published a memorandum that constitutes the first step in adjusting existing law to the digital age.
July 27, 2020
COVID-19's Effect on Completing Transactions
Many steps go into completing MA transactions. Now, with the COVID-19 outbreak, companies are taking this time to modify and sometimes even cancel transactions. What is behind the delay in completing transactions, and on whom to take the risk? Globes interviewed MA expert Micky Barnea on the subject.
July 27, 2020
Representing Britannica Knowledge Systems in USD 70 Million Deal with US Army
Advs. Yuval Lazi and Uri Hillel of our firm accompanied Britannica Knowledge Systems, a world-leading provider of advanced solutions for training management and professional competence, in a USD 70 million contract for the supply of the FOX system to the United States Army.
July 23, 2020
Apartment Sale Delayed because of COVID-19? Home Upgraders Eligible for an Extension
Apartment owners experiencing difficulty selling their old apartments are entitled to a seven-month extension in which to sell, and the Israel Tax Authority will not count this period for tax purposes.
July 22, 2020
Webinar: How to Make a Difference
The Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Center begins today its series of summer lectures. "Summer Entrepreneurship" is a weekly program that invites four experts to talk about various topics related to entrepreneurship. The opening webinar today will host four experts in the high-tech field in Israel, including Micky Barnea. Micky will discuss the entrepreneurial relationship and why it is critical to a venture's success.
July 20, 2020
Returning Residents: Welcome Back to Israel?
Each year, many returning residents arrive in Israel. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of people seeking to return to Israel has increased even further. The process of returning to Israel is not simple, and returning residents face enormous difficulties as part of it. A Ynet article on the subject featured an interview with Harel Perlmutter, a partner and the head of the firm’s Tax Department. Harel explained: “Those who return to Israel after less than six years abroad have almost no tax benefits.” He added that “there is a great confusion about the rights and benefits returning residents are eligible to from the National Insurance Institute. Over the years, the benefits for returning returns have been cut back, and this has kept people away from the country.”
July 19, 2020
NIS 600 Million Financial Closure at Etgal Power Plant
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.