The past decade has been very good to Israel's high-tech industry, which saw 1,210 mega-deals amounting to 385 billion shekels ($111 billion), high-tech industry data research firm IVC-Meitar said this week.
The total exits value throughout the 2010-2019 decade represents an 800% surge in exits value and a 50% increase in the number of overall deals materialized from the previous decade, IVC's report said.
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The final year of the decade, 2019, was especially lucrative for the high-tech sector, with 138 deals totaling $21.7 billion.
This figure represents a 70% rise from $12.6 billion in 2018.
The past year was also favorable for private companies: The value of deals inked by privately-held companies soared to $10.33 billion in 2019, compared with $3.83 in 2018.
The exits value of venture capital-backed companies also rose dramatically, from $2.75 billion in 2018 to $7.12 billion in 2019.
The number of privately-held companies that secured deals in the $100 million-$1 billion range climbed to a record high of 25, compared with 14 deals in 2018.
Four Israeli companies issued IPOs in the US in 2019, but according to IVC an IPO on a major stock exchange does not represent a common path to liquidity.
"The Israeli high-tech sector is enjoying prosperity," IVC Research Center CEO Guy Holtzman said.
"Israeli technology companies raise more capital directed towards growth, while international corporations and private equity funds acquire an increasing number of companies undergoing an accelerated growth process, and at a higher price than ever before."
