Keystone CEO Confirms Fast-Tracked Egged IPO Within Next Year

Keystone, led by CEO Navot Bar, reported strong second-quarter financial results and outlined ambitious growth plans during a recent investor call. The company raised its equity target for 2030 by 50 percent, from 4 billion to 6 billion shekels, with a 31.2 percent weighted return on equity over the past 12 months and equity growth of 34 percent to approximately 3.1 billion shekels. Bar highlighted Keystone’s focus on next-generation assets, including the IPM data center campus in telecommunications, a 40 percent stake acquisition in HOT Mobile, expansion in energy, and growth of Egged’s operations in Israel and Europe alongside Sunflower’s expansion.

Keystone has demonstrated strong cash flow, distributing 71 million shekels in dividends since the start of the year and projecting an average annual cash flow of about 315 million shekels from income-generating assets between 2026 and 2031. Addressing investor questions about the timing of Egged’s IPO, Bar confirmed that the process is advancing rapidly and is already underway in practical terms. He stated, "It’s no longer just on paper; it’s already in progress," estimating the IPO could occur within the next year, though he cautioned against taking the exact timing as definitive.

Bar described the complexity of preparing a large company like Egged for the stock market, emphasizing the need to organize the company clearly so investors can understand its value beyond being a transportation conglomerate. The anticipated IPO valuation is around 8 billion shekels, reflecting significant value appreciation since Keystone acquired control of Egged in 2022 at a valuation of about 4.8 billion shekels. Since then, Egged has paid over a billion shekels in dividends, and a March deal involving investment house Meitav assigned a valuation of approximately 6 billion shekels.

This investor call transcription is part of Globes’ new service providing full transcripts of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange-listed companies’ earnings calls, aiming to offer transparent insights into company strategies and challenges beyond financial statements.