Renewable energy firm opens trade on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange after IPO

Zephyrus Wing Energies Ltd. on Sunday opened the trading day at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) in celebration of the Israeli renewable energy firm’s initial public offering of shares, marking the exchange’s first new share offering since August.

Zephyrus completed its initial public offering (IPO) at the end of March, raising a total of NIS 145 million ($40 million) at a company valuation of NIS 935 million. About NIS 141 million were raised from an offer to institutional investors and the remainder through an offering to the public, according to TASE.

Founded in 2009, Zephyrus is engaged in the construction, operations and
management of wind farms and photovoltaic systems for the production of clean
electricity in Poland. The renewable energy investment firm is controlled by the Israel Infrastructure Fund (IIF), an infrastructure investment fund with $2.7 billion in assets under management. The fund is focused on infrastructure assets in Israel and in global markets in the areas of energy, transport and smart mobility, water and natural resources, and digital infrastructure.

2023 continues to be a tough year for the local stock exchange as the specter of a downturn in global financial markets, higher interest rates and ballooning company valuations has been pushing entrepreneurs and investors into a wait-and-see mode over the past year.

A total of 13 Israeli firms listed via an IPO on the TASE in 2022, the lowest number since 2019, raising $714 million as the market of new issuers came to an almost complete halt in April last year. That compares with 94 new company listings in 2021 raising $3.2 billion and 27 in 2020 raising $1.37 billion.

“Being able to perform an IPO in today’s turbulent market conditions is a testament to the confidence that the existing and new investors have in the company and in its growth potential,” said Zephyrus CEO Eran Saar. “Joining the Israeli capital market and becoming a public company is a significant milestone for Zephyrus in the realization of its strategic plan for the development and growth of the company, and will enable us to accelerate our development plans in Poland and in other destination countries in Europe.”

Zephyrus has developed a number of projects in Poland, most notably the Potegowo project, the largest wind-energy project in the country, which consists of eight wind farms at multiple sites, encompassing 100 kilometers in north-western Poland, with a capacity of 257 MW generated by 98 wind turbines. To date, investment in the project amounts to €340 million. The asset portfolio of Zephyrus also includes a solar project with a capacity of 55 MW in advanced stages of development, and 3 solar and wind projects with capacity of 310 MW in the development stage.

Zephyrus is one of 14 companies the field of renewable energy that are listed on TASE and have a total market cap of NIS 40 billion. The renewable energy firm has issued to investors 14% of its share capital, and is currently traded at a company valuation of NIS 1.2 billion, TASE said.

“Since the beginning of 2020, 19 new cleantech companies joined TASE, reflecting the rapid growth of the Israeli cleantech sector and the companies’ growth on TASE,” said Drorit Vilnai, TASE’s listings unit manager. “We place an emphasis on strengthening the ties between the Israeli high-tech companies and Israeli and foreign investors, and look forward to seeing more companies follow in the footsteps of Zephyrus in these challenging times and join TASE, home of the Israeli economy.”

At the beginning of June, Zephyrus is expected to join TASE’s TA-90, TA-125, SME-150, Tech-Elite, TA-Technology, TA-Global BlueTech, TA-Energy Utilities and TA-Cleantech indices.