CTech's Sunday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Israel's Rick's Café for Russian Jewish oligarchs. Warburg Pincus signs deal to acquire Israeli credit card issuer for $680 million

Israel's Rick's Café for Russian Jewish oligarchs. Russian immigration to Israel, which peaked in the early 1990s, has been on the rise lately propelled by the economic crisis in Russia. A drop in oil prices in 2015 kickstarted the new phenomenon, but U.S. sanctions shifted things into a new gear. With Roman Abramovich as patron and dishes including caviar and hummus, Tel Aviv’s “Shallot” restaurant has become the stronghold of Israel’s newest super-rich. Read more 

 

Tel Aviv's Shallot restaurant. Photo: Orel Cohen

 

Warburg Pincus signs deal to acquire Israeli credit card issuer for $680 million. New York-headquartered private equity firm Warburg Pincus has signed an agreement to fully acquire Israeli credit card issuer Leumi Card, a subsidiary of Israel-based Bank Leumi, Leumi announced Saturday. Calcalist reported Warburg Pincus closed the deal on Wednesday. According to Leumi’s statement, its board of directors approved the deal on Thursday. Read more

 

Dutch Takeaway.com to acquire Israeli food delivery company for €135 million. Online food delivery company Takeaway.com has signed an agreement to acquire 10bis, a Tel Aviv-based online food marketplace, the company announced Saturday. Takeaway will pay around 135 million euros ($157.5 million) in cash for 10bis. Read more

 

Imperva to acquire cybersecurity startup Prevoty for $140 million. Nasdaq-listed Imperva's stock dropped 15.16% by market close Friday after announcing a $23.1 million GAAP net loss in its Q2 financial results, compared to a $3.5 million loss in the same period last year. Read more

 

Israeli cannabis export reform still deadlocked. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the export reform but conditioned it on yet unattained interministerial agreements. Read more

 

Opinion: Is Israel dropping the ball on Africa’s economy? Israel needs to create a policy that will encourage relations with the countries of Africa, writes researcher Amir Sabhat. Read more

 

News briefs

 

Genealogy company MyHeritage opens European distribution center. Read more

 

Italian betting company Snaitech to delist following acquisition by Playtech. Read more

 

Israel’s central bank wants increased regulation on algorithmic trading. Read more