June 5, 2019

by Lynda Kiernan

Employee-owned private equity house Israel Investment Partners (IIP) has closed its debut fund, IIP I, oversubscribed at $500 million. An initial funding target for the fund was set at $350 million.

Founded by businessmen Oded Kobo and Dr. Simón Levy-Dabbah, IIP was established to draw foreign investment to Israel; and together with the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Economy and Industry, to improve international business relations and to further secure foreign investments and partnerships.

To foster these goals, IIP is seeding to invest primarily in established Israeli businesses claiming hard assets and leading market positions in agriculture, life sciences, renewables, technology, waste and water management, energy and natural resources, communications, electric utilities, transportation, and defense.

Increasingly, we’ve seen Israel at the center of agricultural investment news. Despite being a small and semi-arid country, Israel has made huge strides in food production, supported by a range of factors.

Land: The semi-arid nature of Israel’s landscape and the constraints placed on its agricultural sector drive a need for innovation around categories such as irrigation and greenhouse production.In addition, the density of the country’s geography creates a closely-knit network of companies.

People: Israel’s history of being a country built by immigration has led to an open, entrepreneurial culture where the goal is innovation; while the influx of people of vastly different economic backgrounds has led to a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving. The cross-field aspect of the country’s expertise – from military, to gaming, to pharma adds a depth to the pool of experience that can be pulled from for R&D initiatives.

Infrastructure:  The Israeli government has supports in place, while academic research is widespread. Meanwhile, the country’s military teaches its young people how to build, problem-solve, and meet failure with the understanding that knowledge has been gained.

This environment has led to an investor landscape conducive to all investors from generalists, to ag and agtech-focused, to impact, global, and corporate investors.

Within this landscape, IIP’s team has more than 115 years of combined experience including strong ties and relationships with governments in Israel, Mexico, and China.

O.D. Kobo has twenty years behind him with deep experience in investment management, private equity, value creation, and fund strategies, along with a sizable network of relationships across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Before IIP, Kobo co-founded London-based boutique private equity firm PIR Equities in 2007 with partner Joseph Aaron Horowitz. During his time with the firm, PIR raised $1.4 billion across three funds, and deployed fund-level equity across 21 portfolio companies between 2007 and 2018. He also served as an executive director with UK property conglomerate Camden Market Holdings between 2004 and 2014, at which time he was integral in structuring its sale for $680 million.

Meanwhile, Dr. Simón Levy-Dabbah, Ph.D. had previously served as the Undersecretary of Planning and Tourism for Mexico working with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He also led the World Academy of Medical Sciences (WAMS) as chief resilience officer and is also the Chairman of the WAMS Economic Development for Urbanization, Public Policy, and Value Creation Division. He also collaborated with the World Bank, participating in the Global Forum of Corporate Governance, organized by the International Institute of Corporate Governance, and worked for the Agency for the International Development of the United States in the Mexican Diplomatic Mission.

• Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.