In the first half of 2019, Israeli companies’ exit activity reached $14.48 billion in 66 IPO, M&A and buyouts deals, according to just-released IVC-Meitar Exit Report.

That dollar amount includes one mega-deal: Mellanox Technologies, which is to be acquired by Nvidia for $6.9 billion.

The report states that the although number of deals was slightly down from 73 exits in H1/2018, the total exit value in H1/2019 increased significantly from $6.49 billion in H1/2018.

Even excluding the Mellanox deal, total exit value reached $7.58 billion in H1/2019.

The average exit value in H1/2019 set a five-year record at $116.6 million, almost double compared with $63 million in all of 2015. There were 23 deals ranging between $100 million and $1 billion, with a total value of $18.9 billion, also a five-year record.

The IVC-Meitar report notes that four IPOs in H1/19 raised $231 million. These include Fiverr and Tufin, listed in the US.

“In the first half of 2019, we witnessed a significant increase in the total volume of exits, particularly those with a value exceeding $100 million. We identify a similar trend in transactions that are currently under negotiation,” said Shira Azran, partner at Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal law firm, which issued the report together with IVC Research Center, Tel Aviv.

“There is a large variety of buyers, and, in some cases, the purchase price is not only a function of an assessment of the value of the acquired technology, but also a determination of value based on revenue and profitability levels of the acquired company as a reflection of the maturity of the acquired companies.”

The following graph shows the trajectory of Israeli exits between 2015 and H1/2019.

Source: IVC-Meitar Exit Report