Meitar represented privately-held Surpass Medical Ltd., a developer of next-generation flow diversion stent technology to treat brain aneurysms using a unique mesh design and delivery system in its acquisition by Stryker Corporation for up to $135 million, in an all cash transaction.
As part of the transaction, the controlling shareholder purchased the shares of Hot, Israel’s leading cable television company, held by the public in a reverse triangular merger. The controlling shareholder financed the purchase through the issuance of bonds to a syndicate of international banks. These transactions were the last part of the establishment of a leading telecom group in Israel, after purchasing the cellular carrier HOT Mobile (formerly Mirs) from Motorola, and gradually increasing the holdings of the controlling shareholders in HOT over the last three years. The total transaction value, including other share purchases by the controlling shareholder, was $1.1 billion.
The full update (in Hebrew) is available through the PDF icon.
Antitrust / Competition Law
Technology and Intellectual Property
Meitar partner and head of Energy and Infrastructure Group, Renelle Joffe contributed a chapter to The ILO (International Law Office) online news magazine. The chapter is an overview of the Regulatory regime for acquiring petroleum rights in Israel.
Since the discovery of the Tamar natural gas field offshore Israel in 2009, there has been a significant increase in the number of transactions connected to the acquisition of interests in petroleum rights in Israel. The bulk of these acquisitions have been carried out not by acquiring new licences, but instead by farming into existing ones – whether directly by acquiring working interests in existing licences or indirectly by acquiring equity or other interests in the licence holders. Israel is a small country and therefore most of the relevant areas, especially offshore, have already been licensed out.
The full update is available through the PDF icon.
Energy and Infrastructure
The full update is available through the PDF icon.
Technology and Intellectual Property
Dan Shamgar and Shira Azran has published a Client update describing Amendment No. 16 to the Companies Law – 1999 enacted on March 8, 2011, which primarily addresses corporate governance rules and incorporates, among others, recommendations of a committee established a few years ago by the Israeli Securities Authority (the Committee for the Review of a Corporate Governance Code, also known as the Goshen Committee).
This Client update summarizes the main provisions of the Amendment and our initial recommendations with respect thereto. The Amendment became effective on May 14, 2011, with certain provisions becoming effective on September 15, 2011.
The full update is available through the PDF icon.
Corporate and Securities 
