Iscar Ltd, headquartered at Israel’s Tefen Industrial Park, has purchased Japanese Tungaloy Corporation, a leader in the cutting-tools market, from Nomura Holdings Inc. for $1 billion.



This is the largest takeover ever of a Japanese company by an Israeli entity. "It is an honor to partner with a company like this," noted Eitan Wertheimer, President and CEO of Iscar Ltd.



Tungaloy, established in 1934, is considered the leading Japanese company in this industry, with over 2700 employees worldwide and estimated annual sales of $450 million, $300 million from Japan. Production and management of Tungaloy will remain intact in Japan. The deal confirms Iscar's presence in the Far East, where it already maintains factories in South Korea and China.



Iscar was founded in 1952 and 80% of the company was acquired by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Group for $4 billion in 2006, the largest corporate deal in Israel's history. Iscar reports an average of 15% annual growth and generates approximately $1 billion in exports per year.