Israeli robotics firm makes splash with impressive $36M IPO
Israeli company ReWalks – which creates robotic exoskeleton allowing paraplegics to walk - make wave with $36M IPO, almost $5M more than was initially expected.
Israeli robotics company ReWalk went public Friday with an impressive $36 million IPO which saw their newly minted shares shoot up 113 percent.
"We are all thrilled," Larry Jasinski, ReWalks' CEO, told Ynet Sunday. "This achievement has provided the funding required to ensure our long term growth. It will allow expansion of our research and achieve our mission of improving the health and life experiences of individuals with spinal cord injury," Jasinski said.
ReWalk, formerly Argo Medical Technologies, is originally from Yokneam, near Haifa, and makes motorized robotic exoskeletons for people with spinal cord injuries, allowing them to walk again. ReWalks were cleared for US use by the FDA in June and has been marketed in Europe since 2012. Today it has headquarters in the US, Israel and Germany.
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With an initial asking price of $13.60 for per share – 3 million of which were optioned under the ticker symbol RWLK – but by the time the markets closed the stock stood at $25.60, surprising the company which had initially estimated a more modest debut.
Jasinski explained the decision to go public in the US and not in Tel Aviv, saying "technology has a very global reach and while our base for R&D and operations will always be in Israel, most of the users of this wonderful technology will be in Europe, Asia and the United States. Working with the NASDAQ exchange provides ReWalk an excellent vehicle on a global scale that matches well with our customers."
The offering will be open until September 17 and the company intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including sales and marketing expenditures aimed at growing the business and product development.
According to USA TODAY, the company posted a revenue of $1.6 million in 2013, a 63% increase from the previous year. In the first half year of 2014, ReWalk claims a revenue of $945,000, a 13 percent spike from the prior year.
