Permira, the global private equity firm, has today announced that Ran Maidan has joined as Senior Adviser, Head of Israel, strengthening the firm’s presence in the Israeli local market. In addition to his work in Israel, Ran will use his expertise and experience to support Permira’s global investment teams, particularly in the technology sector.
Mr Maidan joins Permira from Netafim, the irrigation global leader and a former Permira funds’ portfolio company, where he was President and CEO, having joined in 2014. During his tenure at Netafim, sales grew by 50% and EBITDA grew by 100% and company valuation more than doubled. The significant growth and value creation were achieved by geographical expansion to emerging markets, a shift from selling products to solutions and services, digital transformation and fostering innovation. The company was successfully sold by the Permira funds to Orbia at company valuation of approximately $1.9B in 2018. Prior to joining Netafim, Ran was located in Singapore and served as CEO of Asia-Pacific, Africa & Middle East at Makhteshim Agan Industries (now Adama Agricultural Solutions), a leading global manufacturer and distributor of crop-protection solutions. Before that, Ran served as CFO of the Makhteshim Agan group from 2006 until 2010.
The Permira funds have completed several successful transactions in Israel, including the 2011 acquisition of Netafim, the irrigation global leader, that was sold in 2018 to Orbia for a company valuation of approximately US$1.9 billion. In addition, In 2009, the Permira funds acquired NDS, a software company which enabled pay-TV operators like "Yes" and "Sky" to deliver a unique viewing experience to their subscribers while protecting the rights of the content providers. The company was sold to Cisco in 2012 for approximately $5 billion, before being reacquired by the Permira funds in 2018 and rebranded to Synamedia.
Permira is a globally integrated private equity platform that has been investing for over three decades in control buyouts and large-scale, non-control minorities. The Permira funds have a long track record of successfully investing in technology companies around the world, including Informatica, the leading independent provider of data integration software, LegalZoom, the leading provider of legal solutions for small businesses and families, TeamViewer, a public company and a leading global provider of secure remote support software and Teraco, a leading provider of carrier-neutral datacentre services. The funds have deployed around US$11.7bn (€10.4bn) in the sector since 1997. The funds invest across four sectors: healthcare, consumer, services and technology, focusing on companies that show resilient growth, have a leading market position and where Permira’s expertise in technology can be used to create additional value.
Ran Maidan said: “During my tenure at Netafim I worked very closely with Permira, as both partners and shareholders, and witnessed first-hand their significant contribution to Netafim’s success. It is a great honour for me to work with Permira and I look forward to helping source and develop interesting proprietary investment opportunities across Israel, particularly in the technology sector.”
Jorg Rockenhauser, Partner and Member of the Investment Committee at Permira, added: “We are always looking for fast-growing companies which we can help become global leaders and we are excited to expand our scope in Israel. The local market is very dynamic, particularly in the technology and innovation sectors, which is a perfect fit with our investment strategy. Ran’s reputation and experience will be of great value to Permira as we develop our presence in Israel and we are looking forward to working with him again.”
