Israel Competition Authority head Adv. Michal Cohen has announced that she is opposed to the sale of retail data analytics provider StoreNext to Israeli private equity fund Fortissimo Capital Fund. This is a second blow to StoreNext, which failed to hold an IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) last year at a company valuation of NIS 200 million due to the deterioration in market conditions.
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Fortissimo buys retail data co StoreNext for NIS 180m
In June 2022, Fortissimo Capital, led by managing partner Yuval Cohen, signed an agreement to buy StoreNext for NIS 180 million. The Competition Authority is concerned about the data held by StoreNext about competitors to food manufacturer Sugat, which Fortissimo also owns.
The Competition Authority said that since StoreNext provides retailers and food suppliers with data based on information received from the cash registers of marketing chains, and in addition provides a supplier portal for companies and organizations, two major concerns arose regarding the merger. The first concerned the ability of suppliers competing with Sugat to connect to StoreNext’s system, and the second concern was the sensitive data about Sugat’s rivals held by StoreNext.
The Competition Authority said, “This information includes data about quantities and sometimes even sales prices to retailers and information on the sale of private brands by retailers. Access to this information could increase the market power of Sugat, which is already a large supplier today, and raise barriers to entry into the markets in which it operates.”
Among the controlling shareholders in StoreNext (held through a partnership with Value Data) ar well known figures in the Israeli capital market including Victor Shamrich and Ido Neuberger, who each hold a 19.3% stake, and are the controlling shareholders in Value Base, the underwriting company that was leading the IPO that has now been cancelled. In the past StoreNext was controlled by former Israeli software giant Retalix, which was acquired by NCR in 2013 for $800 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on February 7, 2023.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.
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