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Elron, a member of the IDB Holding Group, announced this morning that it has invested $1.2 million in BPT, an Israel-based company which operates in the water technologies industry. This investment was part of a round which raised $2.5 million, led by Elron and Aurum Ventures MKI. After the investment, Elron owns 19% of BPT. This is not the company’s first investment in the field of water technologies; in October 2006, Elron invested approximately $10 million for a 32% share of Atlantium, a company which developed an innovative technology for water purification, based on hydro-optical purification using ultra-violet rays.
Elron is a holding company which tries to identify new initiatives with potential. The company invests in and provides support for start-up initiatives, with the intent to eventually exit.
Elron notes that BPT provides membrane-based separation solutions with the goal of treating waste while recycling the water, and that BPT’s solutions address aggressive wastewater streams and industrial processes in a wide range of industries, primarily including: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agrochemicals, metals, food & beverage, drinking water, water re-use, and desalination. Elron reports that the company began selling its products this year.
Doron Birger, President and CEO of Elron, noted that: “This is Elron’s third investment in water technologies in the past year, which exemplifies our desire and sense of duty toward environmentally-friendly technologies, which are growing all over the world, and particularly in Israel.” Elad Frankel, Elron’s Director of Business Development, said: “BPT is an innovative company in the field of water and wastewater treatment, and is a goldmine of knowledge in the field of membrane-based solutions, which is considered a major technology platform in the water industry.” Elron shares have gone up 25% since the beginning of 2006, after a weak 2006 in which it rose 3%.
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