Tamares Group

Tamares Group

Type	Private
Industry	Private equity
Founder	Shlomo Zabludowicz
Headquarters	41 Dover Street Mayfair, London W1S 4NS United Kingdom
Number of locations	10
Area served	International
Key people	Poju Zabludowicz (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Investment management, equity investment, real estate investment, venture capital, growth capital, fund of funds, real estate development
Subsidiaries	Tamares Real Estate Tamares Private Equity Tamares Media Tamares Leisure Tamares Telecom
Website	www.tamares.com

Tamares Group is a global private equity investment firm based in London. Tamares has interests in real estate, finance, technology, communications, manufacturing, leisure and media.^[1][2] The firm invests in a number of different private^[3] and public^[4] companies, and in real estate properties.^[5]

Tamares was founded after the second World War by Finnish entrepreneur, Shlomo Zabludowicz.^[1] Since 1990, it has been headed by his son, Poju Zabludowicz.^[6]

Offices

Tamares seeks investment opportunities in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. It has 10 offices:^[1][2]

• Gibraltar, Gibraltar
• Helsinki, Finland
• Herzliya, Israel
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• London, England
• New York City, New York
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Tel Aviv, Israel
• Vaduz, Liechtenstein
• Zurich, Switzerland

Portfolio

Currently, Tamares has ownership in the following private and public companies:

• Private companies:
  • Addepar - a wealth management platform that provides investment professionals with the tools required to manage complex global portfolios^[7]
  • Answerbook - develops a software that automates and personalizes e-mail marketing for e-commerce^[8]
  • EcoStream - develops lubricants by recycling and re-refining used engine oils^[9]
  • Foris Telecom - global wireless broadband mobile WiMAX carrier and Internet service provider^[10]
  • Mustavaaran Kaivos - engages in the exploration of Mustavaara vanadium-iron-titanium deposits^[11]
  • NodePrime - a next-generation infrastructure management and analytics platform^[7]
  • OneSignal - push notification service for mobile apps^[12]
  • Palantir Technologies - develops and builds data fusion platforms for integrating, managing, and securing any kind of data at massive scale^[8]
  • Pontifax - venture capital fund with $120 million of assets under management, focusing on the Israeli life sciences sector^[13]
  • RoboteX - designs and manufactures personalized robots for monotonous, dangerous or challenging environments^[12]
  • Se-cure Pharmaceuticals - clinical stage, biotech company focused on developing safe and effective therapeutic solutions, targeting high prevalence medical conditions^[14]
  • Siklu - builds gigabit wireless backhaul solutions operating in the E band and V band 60, 70 & 80 GHz millimeter wave bands^[15]
  • Tamares Telecom - Israeli service provider that supplies and operates communication services^[16]
  • Tower Vision - tower management company specializing in the provision of passive infrastructure to the wireless telecommunications industry^[17]
  • Wolt - a Finnish-based smartphone app that allows costumers to pre-order food from over 200 restaurants across Finland^[18]

• Public companies:
  • Dori Media Group - international entertainment group active in the production, distribution and broadcasting of telenovelas^[19]
  • Knafaim (TASE: KNFM) - Israeli-based holding company focused on the aviation industry, controlling shareholder of El Al^[20]
  • Mellanox (NASDAQ: MLNX) - provider of InfiniBand chipset, company went public on NASDAQ in 2007^[21]
  • Outotec (OMX: OTE1V) - develops and provides technology solutions for the sustainable use of Earth's natural resources^[22]
  • Protalix (NYSE MKT: PLX) - biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins^[23]

Past holdings:

• Axis Mobile - complete mobile email solution, acquired by Synchronica in August 2008 for $4.9 million^[24][25]
• British Israel Investments - property management company in the field of shopping mall and commercial centers, acquired by the Melisron Group in 2011 for an implied valuation of $700 million^[26]
• Dione - smart card-based payment systems, acquired by Lipman Electronic Engineering in October 2004 for $104 million^[27][28]
• eXalink - WAP gateway, acquired by Comverse Technology in 2000 for $550 million^[29]
• N-trig - provider of digital pens and chips for touch screens, acquired by Microsoft in February 2015 for $200 million^[30]
• Panaya - automation-technology startup, acquired by Infosys in February 2015 for $200 million^[31]
• Restamax (OMX: RESTA) - Finnish-based company with a chain of some 100 restaurants, cafés, nightclubs and pubs in Finland, Tamares sold its stake in September 2015 for €6.9 million^[32]
• Storwize - online storage optimization through real-time data compression, acquired by IBM in July 2010 for $140 million^[33][34]

Business history

• In 1995, Tamares acquired 1500 Broadway in New York.^[35]

• In 1995, Tamares opened the Plaza America, a 165,000 square feet retail center in Washington DC, on 27 acres (11 ha) acquired in 1988.^[36]

• In March 2004, Tamares acquired 40 acres (16 ha) in downtown Las Vegas in a joint acquisition with Barrick Gaming Corporation from Jackie Gaughan for $82 million.^[37] Tamares was the major investor with Barrick being mainly involved with operating the casinos.^[38] The purchase included:
  • The Plaza
  • Las Vegas Club
  • The Western
  • Gold Spike
  • Ambassador East Motel

• In June 2005, Tamares acquired total control of the hotels and casinos from Barrick, including the Nevada Club Hotel & Casino and Queen of Hearts Hotel & Casino, as well as 40 other commercial and residential sites in downtown Las Vegas. However, Barrick was retained as the lessee of the casinos since Tamares does not hold a Nevada Gaming License.^[39]

• In December 2005, Tamares entered into a lease agreement with Navegante to operate the Las Vegas casinos through a subsidiary called PlayLV. The Queen of Hearts was later acquired by LiveWork Las Vegas.^[40]

• In July 2007, the Gold Spike was sold for $15.6 million to Gregg Covin.^[41][42]

• In March 2011, Tamares put a bid to purchase the whole of Warner Music Group.^[43]

• In January 2012, The Western was closed for an indefinite period of time.^[44]

• In March 2013, The Western was sold for $14 million to a company affiliated with Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project, a campaign to revitalize the Fremont Street area.^[45]

• In April 2013, Tamares announced that the Las Vegas Club will be closing its hotel. The casino will remain open. A possibility of a renovation for the hotel was hinted.^[46]

• In June 2013, it was announced that the ViaEuropa consortium has won the tender for the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) fiber optic communications infrastructure joint venture. Tamares Telecom is one of the four companies in the consortium, headed by ViaEuropa. ViaEuropa will own half of the consortium, while each of the four Israeli companies will own 12.5%. The consortium will own 60% of the fiber optic venture, and IEC will own 40%.^[47] The venture is expected to cost about $1.4 billion.^[48]

• In September 2013, it was reported that Tamares will participate in a financing round, estimated at $15–20 million, for N-trig.^[49]

• In January 2015, it was announced that Tamares is bidding to manage Eilat's Princess Hotel.^[50]

• In June 2015, Tamares has invested in Wolt, a Finnish-based smartphone app that allows customers to pre-order food from over 200 restaurants across Finland.^[18]

• In July 2015, it was announced that Tamares will acquire TEGNA, Inc.'s McLean corporate headquarters for $270 million.^[51] Gannett Co., Inc., parent of USA Today has signed a 12-year lease with Tamares to remain in the building. Previous owner, TEGNA, has agreed to an 18-month lease for 20% of the office space in building.^[52]

• In August 2015, the Las Vegas Club was sold to Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of The D casino, for $40 million.^[53]

• In August 2015, it was reported that Tamares has participated in a $18 million Series-D funding round for Siklu.^[54]

• In September 2015, Tamares sold its stake in Restamax for €6.9 million.^[32]

References

External links

• Tamares - official website
• Tamares Group on Businessweek
• Tamares Private Equity on Businessweek