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15 Jun 17. Mossad Launching Investment Firm to Benefit from Israel’s High-Tech Prowess. Israel’s foreign intelligence agency is creating its own investment firm in order to cash in on the success of Israel’s new startups, Haaretz reported on Wednesday. Mossad will invest its own money in this project, forgoing additional investment from foreign capital and domestic venture capital firms. Unlike a traditional investment firm, Mossad doesn’t plan to control any shares of the constituent startups in exchange for funding. Instead, in a new model, Mossad will obtain rights to the technology produced by these startups. Such a setup will create a mutually beneficial relationship, as Mossad will get access to cutting-edge developments and the startups will grow as a result of the investment.
Mossad conceived of the idea in order to fully take advantage of what Haaretz describes as “Israel’s technology prowess.” In addition to giving these startups funding for their technology, Mossad plans on adding its own value by utilizing its extensive resources and personnel.
Mossad is not the first intelligence agency to set up a fund to invest in new technologies. Back in 2000, the United States Central Intelligence Agency set up a non-profit investment fund called In-Q-Tel. In-Q-Tel is currently invests in technologies on behalf of the U.S. Defense Department and other Intelligence communities.
Israel is well known for its prowess in the realm of technological innovation. Known as the “Start-Up Nation,” Israel has long been a home to up-and-coming technology firms. Much of this entrepreneurial talent is linked to government bodies, including the IDF’s signal intelligence corps Unit 8200. (Source: theisraelproject.org)
14 Jun 17. Fincantieri to buy Isselnord. Fincantieri has reached a deal to acquire all of fellow Italian firm Isslenord, taking a majority stake in the company as of 13 June but due to take complete control of the company as part of the agreement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but it is being completed through Fincantieri subsidiary Delfi. A timeframe for the completion of the acquisition was also not disclosed. Fincantieri said in a press release that the deal was intended to help bring on skilled employees needed for growing work.
“Access to a qualified pool of expertise, which can be immediately put to use, is a solution to the strong workload growth of the Naval Services sector, related to the renewal of the Italian Navy’s fleet assigned to Fincantieri and to the other recent orders acquired by the Group in the naval segment,” the company said. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
14 Jun 17. DSME aims to raise USD700m through share sale. South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has said it will issue another batch of shares to support financial and corporate restructuring. DSME said in a filing to the Korean Exchange on 13 June that it plans to sell new stocks worth KRW792.8bn (USD703m). The sale features more than 19 million shares at a base price of KRW40,000 each.
The company said it would sell the shares to major banks and lenders including the state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB), which is already DSME’s single biggest shareholder, holding 79% of existing shares in the company. DSME has not traded on the Korea Exchange since July 2016 due to its poor financial standing and restructuring efforts. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
13 Jun 17. Boeing [NYSE: BA] is taking the next step in making its Defense, Space & Security (BDS) unit more globally competitive by eliminating a layer of executive oversight.
“We need to be an agile organization that is more responsive to customers’ needs and committed to continually improving pro