January 4, 2017
In 2017, Israeli high-tech exit activity soared to $23 billion in 112 deals, IVC-Research – Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal. The exceptional amount included two huge deals accounting for 72% of the total. Mobileye was acquired by Intel for $15.3 billion and Neuroderm was acquired by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for $1.1 billion. Excluding these two enormous exits, the total was $6.6 million, up 19% from 2016. The number of exits was down 8% in 2017 compared with 2016.
Excluding buyouts and exits above $1 billion, a major decrease was seen during 2017 in the number of non-VC-backed exits; 57 deals – the lowest in the past 5 years. The value of non-VC-backed exits continued to decline for the fourth year, down to $2.22 billion in 2017. VC-backed exits performed more steadily with 44 exits in 2017 worth $2.88 billion.
There was an 18% decline in the number of exits in small to mid-range deals (up to $100 million) in 2017. The major decline happened in non-VC-backed exits, while VC-backed exits demonstrated a minor decline. The number of large exits (above $100 million) was up more than 60% compared with 2016.
IVC Research Center CEO Benzi Segev said, “While we can see a decrease in several threads of Israeli high-tech, the specifics of this exit report support the known innovative strength of the Israeli high-tech. Although we noted a drop in the number of exits in the cyber security cluster – a major innovation center in Israel these days – the high valuations of the 13 M&A deals performed in 2017 prove that the Israel cyber sector created a knowledge hub that can supply innovation solutions even to most conservative industries”.
Read More: http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-ivc-meitar-israel-exits-soar-to-23b-in-2017-1001217991