Israeli headlines have been awash with merger and acquisition deals over the past few weeks. A deal is currently being forged to sell Israel's largest insurance company, Phoenix, to the Abu Dhabi government-owned ADQ investment company. In the growing pet food industry, Biopet has reached an agreement to control 55% of the animal food and equipment chain Anipet at a value of nearly $30 million. Established 14 years ago, Anipet is one of Israel's biggest industry players with 39 branches and an annual sales turnover of $38 million.

But not all the news is positive. At the beginning of December, American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney announced the closure of its Israeli factory belonging to Blades Technology Limited, which it acquired in 2014. The 900 factory employees will be laid off over the next two years.

Overall, M&A market activity declined in 2022. PwC Israel reported a decrease of about 40% in the number of transactions compared to 2021 (from 238 to 142 this year). However, the total value came to $18 billion, a 5% growth. High-tech transactions continued to lead the market at $9.3 billion in 2022, the second-highest amount ever after last year's record performance. According to PwC's report, about one out of four transactions involved both an Israeli buyer and seller, amounting to $3.5 billion compared to $2.8 billion last year.

Liat Enzel-Aviel, a PwC Israel partner and transaction services leader, blamed the decrease on “extreme changes" in the macroeconomic environment, including a rapid rise in interest rates, the global supply chain crisis, inflation and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.