Veteran Israeli Telecom Firm Telrad Shrinks to 70 Employees After Acquisition
Four years after its 200 million shekel acquisition by Liquid Intelligent Technologies, veteran Israeli telecom firm Telrad has shrunk from over 1,000 local employees to roughly 70, following a series of subsidiary sell-offs and strategic restructuring.
Four years after its acquisition by the African corporation Liquid Intelligent Technologies for approximately 200 million shekels, little remains of the veteran Israeli telecommunications equipment company Telrad, at least not under the corporate structure that was sold. While Telrad employed over 1,000 workers in Israel shortly before its sale, a review shows that the purchasing group now employs only about 70 people in the country. This sharp decline follows the sale of various operations as part of a strategic reorganization aimed at focusing the business on profitable growth aligned with its core operations.
Strategic Reorganization and Asset Sales
Founded in 1951, Telrad is one of Israel's oldest and most prominent telecom equipment companies, having undergone numerous transformations and ownership changes over the decades. Until its 2022 sale, it was controlled by the private equity fund Fortissimo, led by Yuval Cohen. Fortissimo led Telrad's IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2017 at a valuation of 340 million shekels post-money, and subsequently orchestrated its sale to Liquid, which completed the transaction in August 2022, leading to the delisting of the company's shares.
At the time of the sale, Telrad operated through subsidiaries across three main sectors: products, solutions, and services for telecom operators; communication infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IT; and business project management. In the years following the acquisition, the group underwent a massive contraction. Telrad divested its operations in Latin America, alongside two major subsidiaries: Marmen, an outsourcing project management firm focusing on government ministries and local authorities, acquired by Maof HR Group; and Magalcom, which specializes in large-scale infrastructure, security, and data center projects, acquired by Kedma Capital.
Corporate Vision Versus Reality
When the deal was announced, both Fortissimo and Telrad's management expressed confidence that the merger would expand Telrad's footprint in Israel. Yuval Cohen stated at the time that the connection with Liquid would ensure the company's expansion in Israel as a significant technological hub. Similarly, former CEO Motti Almaliah predicted that the integration would accelerate Telrad's business development in international markets while increasing activity in Israel.
However, the opposite occurred. Liquid, which provides digital services and telecom solutions across Africa as part of the Cassava Technologies group, executed a sweeping restructuring. The only major domestic activity retained is Oasis, an IT systems integration and communication solutions subsidiary, alongside Telrad Solutions, which manages legacy BreezeAir products originating from Alvarion. Liquid stated in response that the strategic reorganization allowed the company to focus resources and investments on cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and key international markets where it identifies the strongest strategic fit.
