Israeli private equity deal-making in the first nine months of 2016 hit $3.26 billion, exceeding the $3.22 billion raised in all of 2015, according to a new report from the IVC Research Center, which tracks venture capital and startup activity.

In the third quarter of this year, $1.7 billion was spent on 18 deals involving Israeli firms, the highest quarterly amount in the past two years. The amount was 32 percent above the $1.3 billion reached in the previous quarter and over four times the $358 million achieved in the third quarter of 2015.

The most valuable transaction was the buyout of Keter Plastic by BC Partners for $1.4 billion.

“We are experiencing an annual volume increase even before year-end. This figure is highly influenced by single oversized deals, like the Keter buyout, but this is always the case in private equity markets – there are always few very large deals alongside much smaller ones. Rather than a one-off deal, we regard the Keter transaction as a credibility reaffirmation of the local market by the international PE industry,” said Omer Ben-Zvi, Partner at the Shibolet law firm, which contributed to the IVC report. “Despite the instability in world economy and concerns for a potential slowdown, we believe that the local [private equity] market is healthy and still benefits from a growth potential.”

According to the IVC’s data, five Israeli private equity funds raised $1.72 billion in the first nine months of 2016, and three additional funds are currently in process of capital raising.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: Yossi Zamir / Flash90 ]