Israeli high-tech startups were red hot in 2015, and are entering 2016 as exciting commodities for investors worldwide, according to numerous end-of-year market reports.

Forbes, the World Economic Forum, and the Heritage Foundation all rank Israel among the 30 best economies in the world in which to do business.

The “Israel 2015 High-Tech Exit Report” published by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that the total deal value from acquisitions increased by 44 percent. PwC also calculated that Israeli high-tech mergers and acquisitions rose to $7.2 billion from $5 billion in 2014.

“We have grown accustomed to the presence in Israel of global giants like Facebook, Apple, IBM, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Intel and more,” wrote Rubi Suliman in the PwC report. “This year we have seen some new players in the local M&A market such as ARM, Amazon and Zynga. Israeli companies such as Check Point, Mellanox, ironSource and Wix are also actively or potentially in on the action. In 2015, 56 buyers acquired 62 companies, versus 49 buyers that acquired 52 companies in 2014. The amounts currently invested in Israeli high-tech are unprecedented, and it seems that this will bear fruit in the form of more innovative companies that will keep Israeli high-tech rolling forward.”

The most active multinational player in the Israeli high-tech area in 2015 was Microsoft. The global company acquired four Israeli startups last year: Secure Islands, Adallom, N-Trig and Equivio. At the end of 2014, Microsoft also bought Aorato.

“The increase in M&A deals … is driven by continued appetite by large multinationals to use their massive cash holdings to acquire innovative future technologies as the best way to preserve value in the current environment of super-low returns,” said Suliman. “Israeli high-tech remains a focal point for international M&A deals.”

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: Hadas Parush / Flash 90 ]