The Legal 500

This section covers public and private offerings but the sale and transfer of shares between shareholders is covered in the Corporate and M&A section.

‘A very good law firm for capital markets work,’ Goldfarb, Levy, Eran, Meiri, Tzafrir & Co. is renowned for its activities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and internationally. Adam Klein recently advised Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc and Orckit Communications on respective shelf registration statements. The firm also represented Nasdaq-listed NICE Systems Ltd in a stock-options exchange offer. Ashok Chandrasekhar and Oded Eran are also recommended.

Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co.’s ‘top-of-the-line’ practice provides ‘very professional, expert and expedient service’ to Israeli corporates and foreign banks as underwriters on domestic and US securities offerings, and is notably expert in US securities enforcement. It acted on D-Pharm’s IPO and represented Tefron on a New York and Tel Aviv dual rights offering and subsequent private placement in Israel. The team advised on several debenture offerings including Tempo Beverages’ debenture IPO in February 2010. The team was also very busy for Partner Communications, preparing and amending a shelf prospectus, acting on a private placement of Series B notes valued at ILS448m, and handling an ILS1bn debt offering. David Hodak is ‘excellent in general, has a thorough legal understanding, and the ability to cope with complicated transactions coherently and expediently’. Aya Yoffe is ‘very good for public companies work’, while Richard Mann, Amir Halevy and Eytan Greenberg are also recommended.

Herzog Fox & Neeman’s large practice is ‘very good, and has much experience and knowledge in the capital markets’. The group advised Azrieli Group on its ILS1.7bn IPO, acted for Israel Postal Company on an ILS400m notes issuance, and prepared shelf prospectuses for clients including Makhteshim Agan, which it also advised on a ILS2.35bn bond issuance on TASE. The firm also has experience on Nasdaq AIM, and in Singapore, where it handled a $250m notes issuance for Israel Electric Corporation. Fund manager clients include Dash Apax, Excellence Nessuah, Migdal, and Prisma. Ehud Sol heads the practice. Ilanit Landesman-Yogev is ‘the star of this practice – she is well connected and very knowledgeable on all capital markets matters’. Former partners Michal Kamir and Menachem Neeman departed for in-house roles at Kanit and Better Place, respectively.

Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein advises Israeli and international banks and represented Bank Hapoalim on two subordinated notes offerings totalling $890m and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot on offerings totalling $380m. The firm also represented Gazit Globe in four offerings totalling $325m. Perhaps its greatest strength is in advising international banks – including Barclays Capital, Citibank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley – on public and private offerings by Israeli companies in the UK and US. Practice head Clifford Felig is ‘very smart’, while Dan Geva has ‘excellent legal skills and sound business understanding’. Noam Sharon and Shaul Hayoun are also recommended.

Rosenberg, Hacohen, Goddard & Ephrat – Law Office is ‘a very good capital markets boutique doing some top-tier work’. It acted on public bond offerings for Delek Energy Systems in 2009 and 2010 totalling more than ILS1bn. It also represented Delek Real Estate and Isramco Negev 2 on rights offerings and Proteologics on its TASE IPO. Uri Rosenberg is ‘a really good capital markets lawyer – years of experience and considers the whole picture’. Dan Hacohen is ‘very creative and determined’.

Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co has been ‘doing a lot of good work for several years’, and is increasingly perceived as an inventive, go-to option. It advised Harel Insurance and Clal Insurance on new forms of debenture with deferral options, worth ILS630m and ILS700m, respectively. It also represented REIT 1, Israel’s first REIT, in a series of share and debenture issuance. The firm advised JPMorgan as underwriter on Mediamind Technologies’ IPO on Nasdaq. The firm also has expertise in Israel’s exchange traded certificates (ETC) space. Practice heads Avraham Well, Reuven Behar, and Nataly Mishan-Zakai are ‘very good attorneys’, and ‘among the leading lawyers in the field’. Ronald Lehmann is a ‘highly intelligent lawyer with significant experience and deep knowledge of both Israeli and US law’.

Gornitzky & Co has been advising Elad Canada on its planned IPO on TASE and acted for Israel Corporation on the shelf prospectus and its ILS1bn-plus debenture issuance in July 2010. The firm is prolific with debenture offerings and the preparation of shelf prospectuses for clients including Housing and Construction Ltd, Melisron, Poligon and Strauss Group. Itay Geffen and Chaim Friedland are recommended.

Yigal Arnon & Co offers a ‘very high level of service’ for clients on top-end domestic matters including having acted for British Israel Investments on a ILS430m bond trade and expansion scheme under a shelf offering and the same client on three large debenture exchange programmes. Its prolific debentures practice represents clients including Avgol Industries and Knafaim Holdings. It also acted for Rosetta Genomics on a $5m share and purchase warrant offering on Nasdaq. Shiri Shaham is ‘professional, timely and a team player’, and fellow practice head Gil Oren is also recommended.

Barnea & Co’s Micky Barnea heads a practice with experience on TASE, LSE and AIM. Clients include Amiad, Gaon, Pilat Technologies and TESCOM.

Dan Alon heads M. Firon & Co Advocates and Notaries’ ‘highly responsive and diligent’ transactions-focused team, which advised IDI Direct Holdings Ltd on a ILS200m rights offering to fund an acquisition, and Edgar Investments and Development Ltd on a ILS200m debentures issuance.

‘Very good and professional,’ Naschitz, Brandes & Co. focuses almost exclusively on Israeli offerings internationally. It advised EZchip Semiconductor on a $50m secondary offering on Nasdaq, and represented AudioCodes on a $75m public tender offer for senior convertible notes. Practice head Aaron Lampert is recommended. The ‘very good and business-oriented’ Sharon Amir represented MediaMind on its Nasdaq IPO.

S. Horowitz & Co advised Yeda Research and Development, as one of the controlling shareholders, on Optical Imaging’s IPO on TASE, and Bristol Myers-Squibb on Israeli aspects of Mead Solutions’ IPO. It advises Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch on securities offerings. Hugh Kowarsky is recommended.

Moshe Ne’eman heads the practice at Shibolet & Co, which recently acted for Space Communications Ltd in filing a shelf prospectus and handling a ILS397m public debt issuance. The firm also represented Delta Galil Industries on debt and rights issues.

Steinmetz Haring Gurman & Co. provided due diligence for UBS on Azrieli Group’s IPO and prepared shelf prospectuses for clients including Levinstein Assets and Tiv Ta’am Holdings. Manny Gurman and Andrew Larah are recommended.

Yuval Levy & Co has established a niche advising major banks on Israeli law aspects of global offerings including Bank of America on GMAC’s $38bn cash tender and debt exchange offers for its debt securities and Lloyd’s Banking Group on its £13.5bn rights issue. Tomer Maharshak provides ‘thoughtful and considered advice’.