{"id":27193,"date":"2019-06-27T20:10:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/27\/israels-largest-defense-company-moves-slowly-toward-ipo\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:10:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:10:29","slug":"israels-largest-defense-company-moves-slowly-toward-ipo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/paris-air-show\/2019\/06\/27\/israels-largest-defense-company-moves-slowly-toward-ipo\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s largest defense company moves slowly toward IPO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LE BOURGET, France \u2014 The largest defense company in Israel is working toward an initial public offering, but \u201cfor the time being, the state of Israel comes before anything else,\u201d said its CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently government-owned with only bonds trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel Aerospace Industries reported $3.7 billion in revenue for 2018 \u2014 a 5 percent increase compared to the year before, but reflecting a net loss of $44 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company completed at the start of last year a major business and corporate restructuring, consolidating three divisions and another business enterprise into a single division, and rolling out a new strategy to enable growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of that strategy is the IPO, which was approved in December by acting Defense Minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said CEO Nimrod Sheffer. But politics may slow the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the time being, I\u2019m not sure that the Israeli government could make major decisions because we are going though elections\u201d scheduled for September, he said. \u201cEverything will be a little bit slower than I want it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Israeli news site CTech, the country will list 25 percent of IAI\u2019s securities, according to a post-IPO valuation of $4 billion. No shareholder could acquire a stake larger than 4.99 percent, and only the state will have the right to appoint board members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the public offering will provide the company with the influx of cash needed to generate growth, according to leadership. And while government will maintain a controlling share of the company, there will still be a shift from current operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\t