The financial report for 2008 of Tamir Fishman & Co. unit Tamir Fishman Venture Capital (TASE: TFVC), which has $52 million under management, values portfolio company CopperGate Communications Ltd. at $125 million.
Tamir Fishman Venture Capital posted a loss of NIS 8.5 million for the fourth quarter and NIS 35 million in 2008 as a whole, mostly due to a write-down on investments in portfolio companies, as required by fair value rules in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which came into effect in Israel in January 2008.
Tamir Fishman did not have to make write-downs for all its portfolio companies. CopperGate is one of the more appreciated Israeli start-ups. The home network chipset developer has kept its luster for Tamir Fishman and the other venture capital funds that invested in it. Tamir Fishman disclosed the valuation for the company because it is a material holding, which it believes can be sold by the end of 2010.
Although the $125 million valuation for CopperGate is well below the $500 million valuation stated in the prospectus for an IPO filed 18 months ago, the valuation is nonetheless quite impressive considering the current market climate and the write-downs in value for most of its peers.
Although Tamir Fishman made a $600,000 write-down on its investment in CopperGate, due the impact of the financial crisis, Tamir Fishman will be able to recoup the write-down because the current value of its $8-9 million investment in the company is about $39 million.
CopperGate posted tens of millions of dollars in revenue in 2008, and has been profitable for two years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 31, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009