Private equity funds made 24 deals totaling $316 million in Israel in the first quarter of 2017, according to data published today by the IVC Research Center and the Shibolet & Co. law firm.
The figures show that the amount invested was 45.3% less than in the preceding quarter, but 21.5% more than in the corresponding quarter last year. The number of deals was 33% more than in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 26% more than in the first quarter of 2016.
IVC and Shibolet said that there were no private equity deals of more than $50 million in the first quarter, after two years in which there was at least one such deal in each quarter. The largest deal was a buyout of Ace Auto Depot Ltd. (TASE:ACDP) by the Kedma Capital fund, followed by AMI Opportunities with the buyout of 83% of the controlling interest in Ten Petroleum Company Ltd. (TASE: TNPT.B1).
$1.2 billion available for investment
The Israeli funds accounted for 72% of the investments in the quarter, while investments by foreign funds plunged to $89 million, compared with $150 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The amount invested by foreign funds was their second smallest total since the third quarter of 2015. The number of deals was up, but the amounts invested were smaller.
According to IVC's figures, there are 39 active Israeli private equity management companies managing $12.1 billion in aggregate capital. In 2017, one Israeli private equity fund has raised money to date - the Sky Private Equity III fund raised $200 million; while four more funds are in the process of raising capital.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on May 8, 2017
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