Insights & News

Our firm hosted entrepreneurs participating in the jumpTAU program of Tel Aviv University’s Entrepreneurship Center. In this framework, Yuval Lazi lectured on founders' agreement and financing startups, while Anat Even-Chen lectured on setting up a website and the privacy issues that entrepreneurs must address at the very beginning.

Our firm continues to represent the institutional investors Phoenix and More, shareholders of Megureit Israel Ltd., in relation to a dispute about Megureit’s unlawful conduct. According to Phoenix and More, the REIT fund approved, in violation of the law, the extension of the agreement with the management company REIT Index Management Ltd., in a way that constitutes harm to the company itself (and, consequently, also to its shareholders). Megureit also refrained from transferring documents requested by Phoenix and More in this regard and procrastinated in an attempt to avoid convening a meeting and an operative discussion of the issue that could lead to a solution benefitting the company and all of its shareholders. Last week, Advs. Zohar Lande and Adi Shoham sent a letter to Megureit clarifying that Phoenix and More intend to insist on their rights, including by filing a derivative suit against the company and other parties. They requested that this letter be considered a preliminary notice before filing a derivative suit.

In an interview with Walla! News, Amos E. Rosenzweig, a special counsel at our firm, explains that Israeli law possesses no positive definition of who is considered an Israeli resident, but rather who is not. In addition, Amos discusses the social welfare conditions and financial allowances of Israeli residents who live abroad or are considered returning residents.

Our office represents a senior official under investigation in connection with suspicions of embezzlement, estimated at approximately NIS 120 million that were allegedly wrongfully obtained from the agricultural association at Moshav Achisemech.

The Ista deal, in which representatives on behalf of a broad public oversaw a sale of assets at a price that turned out to be attractive to buyers, has faced severe criticism. As an expert on corporations and the capital market, Micky Barnea was interviewed by Globes about the deal. Micky explained the role and responsibility of public representatives, who manage members’ funds, and clarified some ways to manage long-term investments.

Money laundering allegations against bid competitors convicted of coordinating a tender (coupled with charges of competition law offenses and fraud) may lead to aggravated penalties compares to those imposed on “regular” antitrust offenders. The Competition Authority’s decision to freeze and confiscate assets by virtue of Israel’s Anti-Money Laundering Law will exert heavy pressure, both financial and mental, on those under investigation and indictment. Read Gal Rozent and Ran Karmi’s article on the issue in Calcalist.

The tightrope Israel has been walking in the relationship between the United States and China was recently stretched even further, as the US continues to pursue policies aimed at making it difficult for its allies to cooperate with China. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Prof. Amichai Cohen, our firm’s of counsel on international law, details the difficulties and limitations for Israeli companies doing business with China.

Following pollution to the Ashalim River and its surrounding areas in 2017, three plaintiffs filed a class action against Rotem Amfert, a subsidiary of ICL Group, for NIS 400 million. The plaintiffs demanded compensation for the ecological damage caused to the area.

Anat Even-Chen, a partner and the head of our firm’s Regulation Department, was interviewed by Calcalist to shed light on the proposed acquisition. According to Anat, there is no legal prohibition in Israel on foreign ownership of an insurance company, but, in the past, the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority rejected a deal in which a fund owned by the Chinese government wanted to acquire control of the Clal insurance company.

Following the collapse of FTX, several lawsuits were filed against the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, which had entered into cooperation agreements with the now-defunct crypto company. According to Dr. Zvi Gabbay, the plaintiffs must provide at least preliminary indications that the basketball team was aware of or should have been aware of FTX’s wrongdoing. According to Zvi, he saw no hint of any such indications.

Harel Perlmutter, the head of our firm’s Tax Department, details the tax benefits for new immigrants to the Russian language news website MIGNEWS.

Harel Perlmutter, head of our firm’s Tax Department, served as a speaker at the Israeli Association of Public Companies’ annual Tax and Capital Market Conference, where he discussed tax challenges for 2023.

Stock market skeletons are raising their heads. Recently, several skeleton companies have announced talks about merging with private companies who have substantial activity. Dudi Cohen, head of our firm’s Finance and Public Corporations Department, was interviewed by Globes on the phenomenon. He shed some light on the issue of stock market skeletons and the legal problems that may arise as a result.

Israel’s housing crisis has increased the attractiveness of purchasing unimproved agricultural land. Hagit Ben Moshe, head of the firm’s Kibbutz Sector Department, was interviewed by TheMarker on the complexities of purchasing such land for investment. She shed light on the many risks that can accompany these types of deals.

Terry Almozlino-Arnon, Alon Wolner, and Irit Brodsky are participating in a panel on how to successfully complete mall real estate transactions and commercial tenders. The panel is being held as part of the Israel Mall & Chain Store Conference held in Eilat.

Our firm represented Convent Capital, a private equity firm based in Amsterdam, in a USD 42 million funding round in BeeHero. The Israeli startup BeeHero is developing a platform for bee pollination and owns the largest database of bees and pollen in the world. 

Israel and Japan have announced negotiations to sign a free trade agreement. In an op-ed for Maariv, Professor Amichai Cohen, an expert in the field of international law, explains how such an agreement will affect the Israeli economy.

Elad Reshtick, a firm partner, lectured to members of a senior business management course on the do’s and don’ts of shareholder transactions. He delivered the lecture to the IDF unit of the Gender Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Staff in cooperation with the Israeli Directors’ Union.

Will an alliance develop between urban renewal companies and the capital market? Elad Reshtick, a partner in our firm’s Capital Markets Department, addresses the issue in an op-ed for Calcalist.

Elad Reshtick, a partner in our firm, lectured to an Ayelet Or course on the legal aspects of crowdfunding.