Skadden, Arps served as legal counsel to ECI Telecom Ltd. in the first significant private equity buyout of an Israeli public company to date, a transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion.
In the definitive merger agreement announced July 2, ECI -- a global provider of networking infrastructure equipment based in Israel -- is to be acquired by affiliates of the Swarth Group and certain funds that have appointed Ashmore Investment Management Limited as their investment manager. The Swarth Group is an investment vehicle controlled by Shaul Shani. Ashmore Investment is a leading emerging markets investment manager.