As far as I’m concerned, the people of the week were Shari Arison, Michael Federmann and Doron Birger.
Arison Holdings Ltd. chairperson Shari Arison, who has shown herself to be a very smart businesswoman, is planning heavy investment in water technologies, a sector that is critical for humanity. She is establishing venture to be run by former Mekorot National Water Company chairman Baruch Oren. I think this is a very sagacious decision indeed. So smart in fact, that I’d love to invest in it myself.
Arison has hired a man who ran and knows Mekorot inside-out, and Mekorot is to water what Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. is to sophisticated military technologies - the king of kings, even at the global level. The world is parched for water know-how, and there’s no country that creates know-how of this kind like Israel. A large part of this know-how is found at Mekorot, mostly in the heads of its employees.
From my pulpit in this column, I’ve called on the Israeli government to establish a large water investment company, but Jerusalem is too busy counting kassam rockets fired from Gaza and skewering each other. Oren can therefore build a team of experts merely by calling his friends and colleagues to join him. It will be worthwhile, both materially and economically.
Shari Arison’s move will make her even more of a millionaire than she already is, but the contribution to the country is so great that it makes worth putting with Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI).
Michael Federmann’s Federmann Enterprises Ltd. has bought another 5.5% of Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) from Koor Industries Ltd. (NYSE: KOR; TASE: KOR) in a very smart move, for two reasons. One is that Elbit Systems, in my opinion, is a Number One investment for the next decade, and I’ve said so more than once. The acquisition from Koor also severs Federmann from a partner whom I believe is only a hindrance.
In order to better understand why I’m so hot for Elbit Systems, I turn your attention to a report in Zacks on Tuesday about military electronics in the US. Zacks recommends L3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LLL) as the best investment in the sector. I’ve told you before about this company, which is very similar to Elbit Systems. The acquisition should also make it easier for Federmann to sell part of his stake in the future is he wants, and I think he will, albeit not in the near term.
As for Koor, all I can say is that I haven’t followed the company until now, mainly because of bitter memories. After all, Koor was once a bastion of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel), the center of Israeli Bolshevism, and I’m on the other side of the Wall. I had an unfortunate encounter with the old Histadrut-owned Koor back in the 1980s. In any event, by the time I returned to Israel, Koor had been sold to the Bronfman group. Since I didn’t investigate the circumstances, I don’t even know how the Bolsheviks sold the company or how the Capitalists bought it. One day, maybe I’ll take a more in-depth look into the capitalist Koor. But that will be a long time ahead, because when I think about Koor, I think about the Histadrut.
I think that Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: ELRN; TASE: ELRN) president and CEO Doron Birger is a great success for the way he reinvented the company. Elron is more than an investment and holding company. It is a company that invests in technologies or in companies with proven products nd market potential, which need Elron on their side. Elron brings a dowry of managerial, marketing and other know-how.
This can be seen in developments in some of Elron’s portfolio companies. The story of Galil Medical Ltd. is progressing nicely. The company raised $48 million on Tuesday from some of the world’s best known and highly respected investors. It made a swap with General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), selling Oncura Ltd. to GE in exchange for its cryotreatment division, Galil Medical’s field.
I must tip my hat to Pointer Telocation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:PNTR) chairman Yossi Ben Shalom for his success to date. It seems that there was a breakthrough in the company’s performance in January-September. The 36% rise in the share yesterday has almost certainly closed the gap between the company’s real value and market cap, where it is traded at a discount. I’ll henceforth closely monitor things to see whether the time has come to take this company seriously.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 23, 2006
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006