The Legal 500

The result of a recent merger, Agmon & Co., Rosenberg, Hacohen & Co, led by Uri Rosenberg and Dan Hacohen, represented Delek in a ILS470m public bond offering and novel exchange tender offer in which shares were exchanged for publicly traded participation units. The firm also recently represented Delek Israel in a ILS327m public bond offering, and Isramco Negev 2 in several rights offerings raising a total of ILS457m.

Goldfarb Seligman & Co. inherited the top-tier practice of Goldfarb, Levy, Eran, Meiri, Tzafrir & Co., which is renowned for its activities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Yehuda Levy, Oded Eran, Amir Tzafrir and Adam Klein are the key figures in the capital markets and securities teams, and represent prestigious local and international clients. Recommended corporate lawyer Ashok Chandrasekhar also has capital markets experience.

Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co handles the full gamut of capital markets work for domestic and international clients, but specialises in advising dual listed companies in Israel and the US. The firm acted for Elbit Defense Systems on its 2010 shelf prospectus and $284m offering of Series A notes, and acted for other clients on ILS570m and ILS243m public offerings on TASE. The firm provides ‘excellent service in all respects’. Aya Yoffe is recommended.

Herzog Fox & Neeman is ‘professional, full service, high quality and very responsive’. It acted as local counsel for Mellanox Technologies in its $218m acquisition of Voltaire, in the largest internal Israeli acquisition of 2010, and advised the Azrieli Group on the $2.5bn IPO of its ordinary shares on TASE. In April 2011, it welcomed former Israel Securities Authority deputy general counsel Tal Even-Zahav to its team. Ilanit Landsman and Udi Sol are recommended for their ‘availability, knowledge and vast experience in the area’.

Cliff Felig leads the capital markets team at Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein, which represented the underwriters in two major US offerings: it advised Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in a major bond offering by Teva Pharmaceuticals; and JPMorgan and Barclays in a stock offering by Orbotech. It also worked with smaller companies attempting IPOs in the US.

Avraham Well leads the department at Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co, which represents corporate clients vis-à-vis matters pertaining to trustees, underwriters, rating agencies, the Israeli Securities Authority and TASE. The firm recently acted for REIT1, Property and Building Corporation, Harel Insurance and Internet Zahav. It also serves as legal adviser to the Israeli EFT association.

Gornitzky & Co. was recently instructed by Shikun & Binui of the Arison group in a series of bond offerings worth over ILS1.5bn, and acted for SodaStream International in its $425m IPO and secondary offering on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Zvi Gabbay, former head of enforcement at the Israel Securities Authority, was made up to partner.

Yigal Arnon & Co demonstrates ‘excellent response times, very good industry knowledge, strong advice and very competitive rates’. It has a strong securities practice, with particular expertise in dual listings and simultaneous public offerings in Tel Aviv and abroad. Recent highlights include advising JPMorgan on Israeli company SodaStream’s $261.5m secondary offering on the NASDAQ.

Barnea & Co’s name partner Micky Barnea has experience on TASE, the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Alternative Investment Market of the LSE (AIM). Clients include Amiad, Gaon, Pilat Technolgies and TESCOM.

M. Firon & Co Advocates and Notaries’ securities and capital markets department recently handled a ILS332m public offering of company bonds for Dan Vehicle and Transportation DRT Ltd. Oded Ofek is recommended.

Naschitz, Brandes & Co.’s capital markets practice represents Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and Oppenheimer. It was recently involved in MediaMind’s NASDAQ IPO and OTI’s NASDAQ underwritten secondary offering. The firm is also advising parties in two pending US IPOs by Israeli companies, one for the issuer and the second for the global underwriters.

Hugh Kowarsky heads up the capital markets practice at S. Horowitz & Co, which benefits from close relationships with heavy-hitting London firms including Linklaters LLP and Simmons & Simmons LLP. Having been appointed to Barclays Capital’s panel of Israeli advisers, it advised the client on derivatives and hedging matters.

Moshe Ne’eman heads the practice at Shibolet & Co, which is acting for a fully owned subsidiary of an Israeli public company, a manufacturer of communication systems, in a $250m IPO on NASDAQ.

Steinmetz Haring Gurman & Co. represents underwriters or prominent Israeli and Israeli-held companies on flotations on TASE, the LSE and AIM, and NASDAQ.

Yuval Levy & Co advised the CIT Group on Israeli law issues concerning its $15bn exchange offer, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Israeli law issues regarding GMAC’s exchange offer.