On Monday, before trading ends, Aluma infrastructure fund (Tase: aluma) Sprug is a surprise when signing a MOU signed for selling telecommunication companies earningswhere there is 81.6% stake, at Bezeq (Tase: bezq), for $ 160 million.
If the agreement is completed as planned, Aluma will receive $ 131 million (NIS 440 million), more than double investment in the company. It was a first, and successful exit for Aluma, and investors apparently enjoyed, sending partly with 30% of the day. However, aluma’s trade is positive. It has more than three market in the market last year, though it is still below the appreciation where it floats in 2021.
Exelera provides telecommunication services through a fiber-optic undersea cable, and run a data center. In Aluma’s financial statements, the company is defined as the main hold of it (investment is recorded in a fair amount of NIS 363 million). “This is our job: To develop companies, sell it, and invest in new companies,” said Aluma Chairperson and Co-Founder Ori Yougev. “” We will receive money, share a division of our shareholders, and create new investments. “
Aluma established five years ago. It now has four portfolio companies: Exelera, Tibar communication with Towers, Energy Efficiency Eircy Eircy, and with the company Cen Hamakom.
The funds bought its parts to Execera (former Tamares Telecom) from Poju Zabludawicz in 2021 and 2023 for money and part. The transactions make zabludawicz the largest shareholder of aluma, with 20% stake.
Apart from Yogev, who in the past served as director of the government Authority and Head of the Budgets Division of the Ministry of Finance, Aluma is LED by another founder, again Ravina, and Ceo Yair Hirsh. Ravina, who raises the fund investment committee, says Aluma will continue to find new investments in three specialty places: Duringalications communications; green energy, with emphasis on energy efficiency; and environmental, with weight loss of garbage.
“We did not reign in the entry of other sectors in this category, as long as his company was in a growing sector with a track record in the sector” says Ravina. Aluma explained a negative change in financial statements in its investment in Cen haphazed as a result of the problem time to enter it in the sector, where it still believes.
Yogev is referred to as Exelera had an annual sales of $ 12 million and made losses, while annual sales are now $ 30 million, and it is useful today. “This is the business model – to find investments less large, sufficiently adult and useful, or almost useful, to know potential, and grow.”
Bezeq has an undersea cable, by Bezeq International, one of three connectra to Israel in Europe. Aluma is not, however, concerned that the agreement will relate due to competitions in competition. “We have examined the restraint of trading experts, saying that it may be approved, perhaps in conditions,” Yogev said. “We don’t go to the Agreement if we don’t think it’s approval.”
In recent years, telecommunications cables are at the head of the deliberate damage to European wiring associated with War in Russia-Ukraine. “The mirror image of that is part of Exelera’s potential is located in the combination of a cable in Europe inders to pass the wiring to pass through Suez cables.
Yogev: “Now, 95% of communications traffic between Europe and Asia are through Suez, and for many years there is a speech for an additional traffic corridor. The most reasonable is Israel.”
Hirsh: “Now, Epelera was a group of telecommunications. When we met the company over four years ago, it was a primary asset. Cyprus in Europe, and bought a Cyprus data center.
“The Landing Station at Tirat Hacarmel, which was 80 square meters in size, is now a 1,500 square meter server farm. Customers who receiving services on the cable also buy storage services, and we’re talking about the biggest players: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook.”
As mentioned, aluma believes in the possibility of connecting europe and asia by means of telecommunications cables that go via Israel, which means connecting them to other countries in the middle, not all of which has ties with Israel.
“At a practical level, we are not only, but many Israeli productive and good business connections in countries without a formal diplomatic relationship,” Ravina said. “Saudis also needs telecommunication services, which are in the trunk of any business. It is very helpful if there are formal deals with players who do not want to reveal in current geopolitic situations.”
Connection to state sector
Yogev: “We realized pretty quickly that the area most suitable for our skills is business development, buying faster than the sector, enhancing it, and expanding the company. Most other investors in infrastructure – financial institutions and other Funds – Compete on our playing field, but more in infrastructure in the sense of toll roads, power stations, and desalination plants.
“We think the place is to know how to improve the value for telecommunications, green energy, and the execera exiting, and the wasted execera exits well.”
Hirsh, the previous director of the Director of the Ministry of the Interior, discussing government connection. “In the end, the private sector speaks a different language from the government, and sometimes it doesn’t expect activities in that area. Our backgrounds combine the private and public sectors, which makes companies in these fields with the government and local authorities. We have a deep Understanding of Regulation and Government. “
As an example of this, he mentioned Esco, purchased from the Tadiran for NIS 67.5 million. The company has won a contract with the Ministry of Health for Energy Efficity Works in government hospitals, which has received regarding energy costs of energy costs of energy costs.
Yogev: “To deal with a government tender, to know the constraints on the government, the officials, and the consultants, to be capable of going through long processes and demonstrating to the state that it really is saving electricity and money – those who are some of the capabilities that we offer. They also dramatically assisted the company in the company. They also dramatically assisted the company Developing good relations of trust with the Ministry of Health. You have to remember that where there’s infrastructure, there are regulators, and if you have no understanding, you have little earnings. “
To what extent is the war on you?
Hirsh: “Hard-two years of the country has no effect on fund companies. We can see the stimulus of employees. In hospital projects, employees work at first fire.”
There are other funds and financial bodies investing in infrastructure. What is your advantage?
Ravina: “We are not wizards who can find all opportunities, but the model of participation and the ability to bring about these things, but the development of the municipality and the investors we support at the table.
Skeptical investors
Recently recycled owed if it raised 122 million in an offer provider at 6.56% annual interest from 2022 million and where the annual interest is 8.25%. As already mentioned, the Fund Fund price raised last year, which turned out to others listed infrastructure funds – Keystone – but it was sold under the appreciation of its flotation.
Do investors do not understand or connect aluma’s model?
Ravina: “We’re Aware of the Criticism Leveled and Infrastructure Investment Funds. Sometimes, Investment Institutions Don’t like the Way The Funds Revalue Their Holdings, and there was the real estate investment Trust Benefit which would have been realized with a legislation.
“Like other funds, we get criticism unreasonable. Now, we say to investors ‘we’ve done what we said.’ We said we would not lose them in unreasonable prices, which we could improve our holds and they will increase them not only, and that is what is happening, and that’s why to rebuild some lost trust. “
Yogev: “Investors previously doubted, but they saw that selling and Ebitda of our companies grow more than quarters in quarters.
As you look, how is the economy of Israel to look in the next few years, and what is the importance of that for your activity?
Yogev: “In the case of Israel, every part of the infrastructure grows in any economic condition, because the population is growing and cannot be stopped here, if growth is higher.”
Ravina: “The potential of the middle east to resume its historical role since time immemorial, as a crossroads linking east and west, is very real in my view, because it’s in the interests of all concerned – the US and the Powers – and then Israel could be prosper as never before.”
Published in Globes, Israel News in News – en.globes.co.il – On July 20, 2025.
© Copyright in Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
