Nasdaq exec: 5 Israeli cos set for IPOs

Nasdaq Photo: Reuters
Nasdaq Photo: Reuters

Six Israeli companies were newly listed on Nasdaq in 2017, three of which held IPOs.

Five Israeli companies are in the process of preparing for IPOs on Nasdaq, according to Asaf Homossany, Nasdaq's managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Homossany says that Nasdaq has identified growing interest on the part of "unicorns", that is, privately-held companies that have reached valuations of over $1 billion. The interest is bolstered by IPOs by promising unicorns, such as that of Docusign last month.

Docusign, a US technology company, raised $630 million in its IPO in late April. Its share price has since soared 53%, pushing the company's market cap up to $6.7 billion.

Nasdaq figures show 55 new companies listed this year, including 37 that held IPOs. These companies raised an aggregate $7 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

Only one of these new companies is Israeli - dermatology company Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: SLGL), which raised $75 million in February at a company value of $225 million, after which its share price dropped 28.6%, pushing its market cap down to $162 million.

Nasdaq says that three Israeli companies held IPOs in 2017: ForeScout Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: FCST), Therapix Biosciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: TRPX), and Urogen Pharma (Nasdaq: URGN). Three other companies were listed for trading without raising money: CollPlant Holdings Ltd.(OTC: CLGN; TASE: CLGN), Entera Bio (Nasdaq: ENTX), and CompuLab Ltd. (Nasdaq: CPUL). According to Nasdaq, all three of the latter are likely to make offerings this year.

Homossany, who attended the Oppenheimer conference yesterday, said, "The trend towards offerings is picking up steam among Israeli companies, which are going for IPOs on Nasdaq in the US or on Scandinavian stock exchanges… the managements of these companies understand the advantages of a public offering, especially on a stock exchange that values innovation in financial technology as something that supports enhancement of value."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 15, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Nasdaq Photo: Reuters
Nasdaq Photo: Reuters
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