Netafim: The Drip Pioneer in Reported Sale Talks

Netafim invented drip irrigation 60 years ago at Kibbutz Hatzerim. Today it is the largest precision-agriculture company in the world — and reportedly in sale talks at a proposed valuation of about $1.4 billion.

Founded 1965 by Kibbutz Hatzerim. Invented drip irrigation. Acquired by Mexico’s Orbia in 2018 at a $1.9 billion valuation (80% stake; Hatzerim retained 20%). As of February 2026, Calcalist and Globes reported Orbia is in sale talks with a consortium led by Chinese businessman Haoyu Wang at a proposed valuation near $1.4 billion. The deal has not closed. FY2024 revenue $1.04 billion. FY2025 EBITDA approximately $135 million.

Netafim is the world’s largest precision-irrigation company — annual revenues over $1 billion, outpacing closest competitor Rivulis (~$700 million). The operator runs 17 manufacturing plants across 14 countries and supplies farms in 110+. Critically, this is not just agricultural technology. Drip irrigation is one of Israel’s most successful pieces of exported infrastructure — a national constraint converted into a global standard, sold by the unit and underwritten by 60 years of operating data.

As of early 2026, it is also in the middle of a reported ownership transition that will determine who owns that infrastructure for the next decade.

What Netafim does

The company manufactures drippers, dripperlines, sprinklers and micro-emitters. Beyond hardware, it sells crop-management technologies — monitoring and control systems, dosing systems, crop-management software — plus managed irrigation, agronomic advisory, and operation/maintenance services.

The mechanical principle — convert powerful water flow into a controlled drip at the root zone — was a kibbutz invention and is widely cited as one of Israel’s signature technological breakthroughs.

The ownership history

1965: Founded by Kibbutz Hatzerim near Beersheva.
2006: Israeli funds Markstone and Tene Capital invested.
2011: Sold to European PE firm Permira at a reported $850 million valuation.
2018: Acquired by Mexico’s Orbia for $1.9 billion (80%); Kibbutz Hatzerim retained 20%.
2025–2026: Sale process reported underway.

The reported sale process

Calcalist reported in January 2026 that Orbia announced its intention to sell Netafim in October 2025. Israeli private equity firm Fortissimo was the initial reported lead at approximately a $1 billion valuation, but talks collapsed after Fortissimo demanded a price reduction based on due-diligence findings.

Reporting then turned international. Globes, Ynet, and Jerusalem Post coverage from February 2026 described talks with a consortium led by Haoyu Wang, the Maryland-based Chinese-American chairman of Dayu Conserving Water Group. The consortium reportedly includes the HOPU investment fund. Proposed valuation is approximately $1.4 billion, with Netafim carrying approximately $400 million in bank debt. Orbia may retain a 10–20% stake in the eventual structure.

Kibbutz Hatzerim’s 20% includes a contractual right to block a new partner only if the partner originates from a hostile country lacking diplomatic relations with Israel — a condition that does not apply to a Chinese-led consortium. The reporting notes the kibbutz had publicly preferred an Israeli buyer.

The transaction has not closed. Regulatory review — including potential US CFIUS scrutiny — is described as a meaningful factor.

The financial picture — per reported figures

Calcalist and Globes: FY2024 revenue was $1.038 billion, down approximately 3% from $1.063 billion in 2023. Operating profit fell to $6 million in 2024 from $13 million in 2023 and $19 million in 2022. EBITDA held at roughly $120–125 million annually. The first nine months of 2025 showed recovery — revenues $816 million (+5.7% YoY), EBITDA $103 million (+12%). Full-year 2025 EBITDA reached approximately $135 million.

A margin-compressed but recovering precision-agriculture leader, with reported valuation well below the 2018 Orbia entry price.

What it signals

This is the Israeli climate-tech operator with the most consequential reported ownership question going into 2026. The Hatzerim founders cannot block a Chinese-led deal under the existing partnership agreement. The likely external check is US CFIUS, given Netafim’s US plant footprint and supply relationships.

If a Wang-led deal closes, the world’s drip-irrigation IP transfers from Mexican to Chinese control while continuing to operate substantially in Israel. The kibbutz keeps its 20%. Category leadership shifts. If the deal collapses, the precedent of foreign capital re-pricing Israeli water IP at well below the 2018 entry price stands.

The cohort context

Netafim is the operator least controlled by Israeli capital — and the one whose reported 2026 outcome will most directly shape how foreign capital values Israeli water IP going forward.

Netafim remains one of Israel’s clearest examples of how an agricultural constraint became global infrastructure.