Israeli technology company Ability yesterday became a public company by completing a reverse merger with Nasdaq blank check company Cambridge Capital Acquisition Corporation, and trading in its share will begin today under the ticker symbol ABIL. In the coming weeks, Ability is expected to become dual-listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The merger was at a company valuation of $250 million for Ability, and it is believed that once the company is listed on the TASE, it will be added to the Tel Aviv 100 Index. The merger deal with Cambridge Capital was managed by Hagai Yedid, head of Migdal Underwriting and Business Initiatives, which is managed by Roee Eizenman.
Cambridge Capital is a company with no activity that raised money from the public for the purpose of merging with another company. The company had $81 million in cash, and before the merger allowed its shareholders the choice of whether to remain its shareholders or to withdraw the money they had invested. $21.6 million was returned to the shareholders, leaving it with $59.7 million.
Ability's shareholders received 17.1 million shares in the merged company, worth $173 million, plus $18.2 million in cash - a total of $192 million. Subject to meeting milestones, they will receive more shares in the future. The deal also included a $60 million financing round, making the company value $250 million, after money.
Founded in 1995 and managed by Anatoly Hurgin, Ability produces intelligence technologies for government, military, and police agencies, and also operates in cyber security. Hurgin founded the company together with CTO Alexander Aurovsky. Ability's 2014 revenue totaled $22.1 million, and the company made a $3.6 million net profit. Most of its revenue comes from the Middle East (32%) and Latin America (31%). The company projects revenue of $58 million and and net profit of $20 million in 2015, and $108 million and $38 million in 2016. "This merger into a Nasdaq company will enable us to carry out our strategy. We expect to generate a long-term profit for the shareholders by selling a number of our new ventures," Hurgin said today.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 24, 2015
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