Tel Aviv Stocks Open Mixed as Tech Arbitrage Gaps Weigh on Market
Tel Aviv stocks opened mixed as dual-listed tech shares like Palo Alto and Tower suffered sharp negative arbitrage gaps, while Baran Group acquired a stake in the Ashkelon desalination plant.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened the trading week with a mixed trend following sharp declines in New York tech stocks. Dual-listed shares returned with mostly negative arbitrage gaps, led by Palo Alto and Tower with drops of -8.4% and -7.1% respectively, triggering the English opening mechanism and delaying the start of trading. Nova, NICE, and Enlight also returned with negative gaps, while Elbit Systems returned with a positive gap of 1.4%.
Infrastructure Acquisition and Management
Baran Group, engaged in planning, engineering, and infrastructure construction, signed an agreement to acquire a 40% stake in Adom, the company operating and maintaining the Ashkelon desalination plant, for 53.6 million shekels. The shares will be acquired from Veridis, which will retain a 60% stake, subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition will add operation and maintenance revenues to Baran alongside its planning and construction activities. Simultaneously, Baran and Veridis are jointly bidding for a tender to upgrade and expand the plant from a production capacity of about 120 million cubic meters per year to 220 million cubic meters, and to operate it for an additional concession period of 25 years.
Executive Departure at Baran
Against the backdrop of the deal, Baran announced that CEO Itzik Frank asked to end his tenure after five years, during which the company's market value doubled to 470 million shekels. Frank served as CEO for five years, having started his career at the company as a student and rising through management ranks. Meanwhile, other dual-listed stocks such as Camtek returned with a -2.4% gap, Ormat Technologies with -1.2%, and ICL with -0.1%, while Teva returned with a negligible gap.
