Top lawyer cashes out nearly NIS 200 million in Torpaz shares as stock soars
Attorney Dr. Israel, also known as Rali Leshem, chairman and co-founder of flavor and fragrance company Torpaz, sold shares last week for about NIS 27 million. The sale was part of a much larger pattern: over the past year he completed more than ten separate disposals totaling about NIS 195 million. After those sales, Leshem still holds 1.8% of the company, worth about NIS 145 million, and his total proceeds from sales plus remaining holdings amount to roughly NIS 330 million.
The selling came during a sharp rally in Torpaz’s stock. Over the past year the shares have more than doubled, and over three years they have risen about 615%, lifting the company’s market value to about NIS 8.3 billion. The gains have been supported by steady business growth and a long series of strategic acquisitions.
Torpaz, run by CEO Keren Cohen-Hazan, ended 2025 with revenue of about $275 million, up 45.6% from 2024, including 13.3% organic growth. Net profit rose 28% to about $18 million. Momentum continued into 2026, when first-quarter revenue climbed 39% to a record $83.6 million and net profit doubled to about $11 million. Late last year the company promoted Leshem to chairman, while Cohen-Hazan remained CEO.
Cohen-Hazan has mostly avoided selling her own stake, but she did sell shares for NIS 50 million to a foreign investment bank at the end of last year and another NIS 100 million early this year. She also donated about 1% of her shares to three Israeli hospitals, Beilinson, Sheba Tel Hashomer and Soroka, a stake then worth about NIS 47 million and now estimated at about NIS 75 million. Despite those moves, she still controls 38% of Torpaz, worth more than NIS 3 billion. Torpaz was founded in 2011 by a group of former MCT Achim Agan executives, went public in May 2021 at a valuation of about NIS 900 million, has bought more than 20 companies since its founding, and last month announced a planned $95 million acquisition in New Jersey, its largest deal to date.
