Israeli Institutional Investors Plan Over NIS 1 Billion Energy Investment Amid Wall Street Drop
Several Israeli institutional investors, including Migdal, Amitim, and Harel, are in advanced talks to invest over NIS 1 billion in PowerGen, the energy arm of Generation Fund. Concurrently, Phoenix will exercise an option to acquire about 10% of PowerGen's shares, valuing the company at approximately NIS 3.25 billion before the Shikun & Binui Energy deal and about NIS 7.7 billion after. Each investor is expected to contribute between NIS 300 million and NIS 400 million, receiving roughly 6% to 7% of PowerGen's shares.
Separately, Eli Dahan's Movment company has submitted a tender offer to acquire 21.34% of Novolog's shares for NIS 100 million, aiming for control of the pharmaceutical distribution firm. Dahan previously held 11% of Novolog privately. His offer price is NIS 72.14 per share, 5% above the previous day's closing price on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), with the offer valid until August 5.
Ahead of TASE's opening, Wall Street experienced sharp declines: the Dow Jones fell 2.2%, losing 1,153 points, the largest daily point drop since April 2025; Nasdaq dropped 1.7%, and the S&P 500 declined 1.5%. Negative arbitrage gaps appeared in dual-listed chip stocks, with Tower Semiconductor showing a 6% negative gap, Nova 3.5%, and Camtek 4.4%. Local oil and gas sector stocks are expected to react to a nearly 7% rise in oil prices yesterday, partially offset by a 1.1% drop in Brent and 0.9% decline in WTI this morning.
US government bonds responded strongly to the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged and Chairman Kevin Warsh's press conference. The 30-year US Treasury yield jumped 11 basis points to 5.20%, its highest since July 2007, while the 10-year yield rose 8 basis points to 4.68%. Both yields continued rising this morning, with the 30-year at 5.24% and the 10-year at 4.71%. Israeli 10-year bond yields stand at 3.88%.
Yesterday, TASE closed lower with the TA-35 and TA-125 indices down 1%, the TA Banks index retreating 1.5%, TA Oil & Gas down 0.7%, TA Cleantech losing 2.4%, and TA Security dropping 2.5%. Teva Pharmaceutical surged 10.1% after reporting earnings and later rose 9.6% on Wall Street.
