
India’s Amber Group buys into Israeli tech with $47M stake in Unitronics
First global move for Indian firm reflects growing foreign appetite for Israeli industrial IP.
The Indian Amber Group is acquiring a 40.4% stake in the Israeli electronic components company Unitronics, purchasing shares from private equity fund FIMI and tech entrepreneur Haim Shani.
This marks Amber’s first deal outside India. The company is acquiring 31.4% of Unitronics from FIMI for ₪122 million ($36.4 million), and 9% from Haim Shani for ₪35 million ($10.4 million). Shani will retain a 4.76% stake in Unitronics following the transaction.
The deal reflects a valuation of ₪388 million ($115.8 million) for Unitronics, about a 15% premium over its current market price.
Just a year and a half ago, FIMI sold 18% of its holdings for ₪72 million ($21.5 million), valuing the company then at ₪400 million ($119.4 million). At the same time, Shani sold shares for ₪31.4 million ($9.4 million). The buyers were Israeli institutional investors led by More Investment House, who have not recorded a return on that investment since.
Unitronics develops programmable logic controllers (PLCs), hardware and software products used to automate and control industrial machinery and processes.
FIMI acquired control of Unitronics in 2016 for ₪110 million ($32.8 million) at a valuation of ₪220 million ($65.7 million). In 2019, the company spun off its robotic parking operations into a new entity, Utron, now traded at a valuation of ₪75 million ($22.4 million). FIMI holds 44% of Utron, valued at ₪33.5 million ($10 million).
According to a statement by FIMI, led by Ishay Davidi, the fund achieved a 4.8x return on its investment in Unitronics. This transaction also marks FIMI’s first sale in some time to a foreign buyer, after years of exits primarily to Israeli institutional investors.