Narrowing of the Exits for Semiconductor Firms?

Ori Kirshner, managing partner at Giza Venture Capital, discusses the latest exit trends affecting Israel’s semiconductor companies. This article first appeared in the Israel Venture Capital & Private Equity Journal (IVCJ) published by IVC Research Center, Israel's leading business research company specializing in high tech, venture capital and private equity. IVC publications, which are distributed worldwide, provide insight on technologies developed by Israeli-related companies and on venture capital investments made in such companies. For more information, please visit www.ivc-online.com.

IVCJ: It appears that there are fewer Israeli semiconductor company exits than a few years ago, and the exits that have been achieved are smaller in size than previously. Why is this?

Kirshner: There are not many exits right now in the general market, and the situation for semiconductor firms is no different. Passave and Oplus, for example, have seen significant exits in the past few years, but overall, there has been a drop in their number and size. The initial public offering (IPO) market has slowed to a crawl, and while there are acquirers out there, most are unwilling to purchase technology alone. They are willing to buy companies with a customer base and market share. So, basically, the industry is in a waiting mode.

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