Markets in Brief

CMOSIS, a fabless semiconductor maker that designs (but does not make) high-end CMOS image sensors for professional imaging applications, is launching its first off-the-shelf high resolution sensor - which will integrate 0.18-micron CMOS image sensor technology made by none other than Israel's Tower Semiconductor. Now you are wondering what CMOS is. It stands for "complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor," and is used in certain chips. For more information, search the Internet. The truth is out there. (TheMarker)

Roche Holding is suing Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for allegedly infringing patents protecting Xeloda, a drug to treat cancer of the colon, breast and stomach. U.S. sales of the drug reached $475 million in the 12 months ending September 30. Teva had filed its request to market its generic version of the oral chemotherapy medication under paragraph IV of the Hatch-Waxman Act, conferring six-month exclusive sales rights to the first generic drugmaker that successfully challenges the patent rights. (Yoram Gabison)

Yitzhak Tshuva's company Delek Energy is contending against five foreign companies in the race to establish a terminal for liquefied natural gas on Israel's shoreline. Six companies filed bids at the prequalifying stage of the tender issued by the Finance Ministry. Delek Energy is allying with the American company Teekay LNG, to meet the qualification of prior experience. Teekay LNG is a subsidiary of the Teekay Corporation. The other contenders are ENI of Italy, Golar of Britain, NYK of Japan, and Union and Accelerate, both American companies. Other Israeli companies, including Shapir Engineering and Isramco, elected not to run. Delek Energy is a subsidiary of Tshuva's Delek Group. (Avi Bar-Eli)

Central European Estates, a company registered in the Netherlands that belongs to its chairman Nimrod Rinot and Yuli Ofer, bought 74% of Tel Aviv-listed Inventech Investment Co. from Lapidoth Israel Oil Prospectors for NIS 108 million. The idea behind the deal is to move Ofer's holdings in hotels: CEE immediately sold its subsidiary, CEE Hotel Holdings, to Inventech for NIS 117 million. Ofer plans to expand his hotel business through Inventech. (TheMarker)

TAT Technologies yesterday reported renewal of a contract with a major, but unnamed, American manufacturer of aviation products and systems, to make emergency power systems for F-16 fighter jets. Under the three-year contract extension, the client may order up to $6 million worth of the systems. TAT chief executive Shmuel Fledel said that combined with "additional activities," the Israeli company could receive $10 million from the client over the three years. (TheMarker)

Yitzhak Tshuva evidently has faith in Shari Arison. Two of his companies have invested in Arison's company Housing & Construction: Phoenix-Excellence acquired a 4.06% interest worth NIS 107 million, and its parent company Phoenix Holdings owns another 1%. In short, Delek as a group has become a party of interest in Housing & Construction, with a total 5.06% stake. Some of the shares were bought last week from a distribution by Deutsche Bank, when Arison Investments sold 8% of Housing & Construction for NIS 200 million. From the start of the year Housing & Construction shares have gained 201%, lifting the company's market capitalization to NIS 2.6 billion. (Michael Rochvarger)

Ephraim Kadec, marketing and sales manager at Elspec Engineering, has been arrested on suspicion of abusing insider information. The Israel Securities Authority claims that Kadec bought NIS 69,000 worth of shares in the company shortly before Elspec advised investors, in April 2009, of 6 million euros' worth of new contracts. The contracts were obtained from two Spanish firms through a group company, Elspec Technologies. The parent company advised the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that the information was material and that it had known since two days' before, at 4 P.M. The news sent its share price jumping 6% - but in the days before the announcement, Elspec stock rose 49%, the Israel Securities Authority points out. Kadec is not the only suspect in the affair. (Amir Benaroia)

Kallpa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Israel Corporation, is allocating 25.1% of its shares to Quimpac of Peru in exchange for $74 million. In other words the transaction values Kallpa at $220 million. Israel Corporation will post a $34 million capital gain when the deal is finalized in the fourth quarter. Kallpa owns and operates two turbines with total capacity of 374 MW in Peru. It is also building another 192-MW unit at another site. Kallpa will use the money from Quimpac to expand capacity at that second site to 280 MW. (Yoram Gabison)