The great restructuring: As tech dreams fade, corporate giants reinvent themselves

While NextFerm's collapse illustrates the risks in tech dream companies, a completely different story is unfolding at the corporate top tier. From insurance to energy and infrastructure, veteran players are not resting on their laurels, but executing strategic moves

The Israeli market presents a split picture: alongside the collapse of technology companies like NextFerm, brisk restructuring activity is taking place among large and established companies. Shlomo Holdings is exiting tourism and diving into real estate financing, Hi-Lift is acquiring Skyline in a mega-deal in the crane sector, energy companies (Sol-Air, Sunflower, Navitas) are cementing their overseas positions through financing and strategic contracts, and insurance giants are clearing the table of past lawsuits. The clear trend: focus, calculated expansion, and bolstering dominance.

The recent wave of reports from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reveals two parallel, almost opposite trends painting a picture of a market undergoing restructuring. On one hand, the dismal story of food-tech company NextFerm, which sold its plant equipment for a pittance of ₪65,000, serves as a resounding warning sign to investors in technology dream companies. On the other hand, and in stark contrast, large and established companies in the economy are using this period to execute bold strategic moves designed not only to scale them up, but primarily to focus, strengthen, and cement their position for years to come.

Focus and consolidation: The giants strengthen from within

The most prominent example of the strategic focus trend comes from Shlomo Holdings. In a rapid double move, the group sold its holdings in the Talma-Shlomo travel agency for ₪144 million, and immediately used part of the capital to acquire, through its subsidiary Direct Financing (Maimon Yashir), a non-bank credit company specializing in real estate financing. This is a classic move of exiting non-core business activities (tourism) and deepening its foothold in the growing financial sector, which lies at the heart of the group's strategy.

Concurrently, the construction infrastructure sector is seeing a dramatic consolidation move. Hi-Lift, controlled by the Alma Yesodot fund, is acquiring rival Skyline Cranes in a mega-deal worth approximately ₪255 million. The move, financed by a complex financial package including a bank loan and institutional equity investment, creates a new dominant player in the crane market and demonstrates how capital meets opportunity to create large-scale growth engines in traditional industries.

In the insurance sector as well, the picture is one of 'clearing the table.' Harel, Migdal, and The Phoenix are reaching expensive yet necessary settlement agreements one after another in long-standing class action lawsuits. These moves remove a cloud of legal uncertainty that threatened the companies, freeing them to focus on the future. Harel's success in raising ₪500 million in debt immediately afterward proves market confidence in the ability of these giants to continue leading.

Calculated global expansion: Not just growth, but risk reduction

In the energy arena, Israeli companies are not only expanding geographically, but doing so while managing risk adeptly. Sol-Air secured $71 million in financing from a leading international bank to construct its first wind and storage project in Chile. Reaching financial close is the critical milestone that turns a plan on paper into operational reality and secures project construction. Concurrently, Sunflower locked in higher electricity prices for two years ahead in Poland via a new PPA, securing a stable and predictable revenue stream. Navitas Petroleum is also making a strategic move in South Africa: it is not only acquiring rights in an oil asset, but becoming its operator, granting it full control over future development.

Proven innovation

Amid the flurry of corporate activity, the story of Rafa Laboratories stands out as an example of innovation bearing fruit. The full success in the clinical trial of its Naloxone auto-injector is no vague promise, but a concrete milestone paving a fast track to FDA approval and the U.S. market. This stands in stark contrast to NextFerm's story, demonstrating how focused research and development targeting a clear market need can lead to tangible commercial success.

Ultimately, the market is drawing a clear distinction. While speculative bets on unproven technologies grow increasingly dangerous, established companies with strong balance sheets and clear strategies are capitalizing on the period to fortify, focus, and build their next generation of growth engines—at home and abroad.