1997 · Israel
Variety Israel
In 1997 he served as chairman of Variety Israel’s young leadership, supporting children in need.
Los Angeles
Adi Keizman
Founder of ADO, the Berlin residential real estate platform later listed in Frankfurt.
Investor, Los Angeles
- 2004
- First property acquisitions in Germany
- 2008
- Tel Aviv listing, about 3,000 units
- 2015
- Frankfurt IPO at a €700m market cap
- 2016
- Exit from ADO completed
01 About
A long-term view of residential real estate.
Adi Keizman is a Los Angeles-based real estate investor. In 2004 he began acquiring property in Germany, and from 2005 he concentrated on Berlin’s residential market, years before that thesis became a mainstream destination for Israeli investors, founding ADO, the platform later listed in Tel Aviv and Frankfurt.
Early landmark purchases included the historic Postfuhramt in Berlin-Mitte and, in 2006, the Yenidze building in Dresden and Leipzig’s Ring-Messehaus. The name ADO comes from the first letters of Adi, his daughter Daniel, and Ofra.
The Berlin rental portfolio was built in partnership with Shikun & Binui. In January 2008 he acquired control of the TASE-listed shell Paniel Holdings, investing NIS 19.8 million, and renamed it ADO Europe, then ADO Group in June 2008. In March he contributed a portfolio of about 3,000 residential units in roughly 100 Berlin buildings. He was the controlling shareholder until 2011, when Shikun & Binui merged its German operations into the company and became the controlling shareholder; he remained a significant shareholder.
In July 2015, subsidiary ADO Properties S.A. listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) at a market capitalization of €700 million, in a €415 million offering (€456.5 million including the over-allotment). At listing, the company owned approximately 13,700 residential units in Berlin, with a portfolio valued at about €1.2 billion. He sold his ADO holdings in stages, completing his exit in 2016.
The platform he founded went on to roughly triple in value after the Frankfurt listing. His lead partner, Shikun & Binui, booked roughly NIS 700 million in capital gains from it. He now invests from Los Angeles.
02 The ADO story
From early Berlin buildings to a public company.
A twelve-year path, from first acquisitions in Germany to a Frankfurt listing — and an exit completed in 2016. The facts below are drawn from contemporaneous reporting and company disclosures.
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2004
First acquisitions in Germany
He began acquiring property in Germany, before concentrating the work in Berlin the following year.
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2005
A Berlin residential thesis, and the founding of ADO
From 2005 he concentrated on Berlin’s residential market, founding ADO — years before that thesis became a mainstream destination for Israeli investors. The name ADO is formed from the first letters of Adi, his daughter Daniel, and Ofra.
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2006
Landmark buildings, and a partnership with Shikun & Binui
Early landmark purchases included the historic Postfuhramt in Berlin-Mitte and, in 2006, the Yenidze building in Dresden and Leipzig’s Ring-Messehaus. In November 2006, Shikun & Binui entered as a 50 percent partner, contributing €20 million of equity alongside his €10 million, to acquire about €300 million of Berlin assets.
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2008
From a listed shell to ADO Group
In January 2008 he acquired control of the TASE-listed shell Paniel Holdings, investing NIS 19.8 million. The company was renamed ADO Europe, and in June 2008, ADO Group. In March he contributed the Berlin yielding-residential platform into the listed company — a portfolio of about 3,000 residential units in roughly 100 buildings. He was the controlling shareholder until 2011.
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2010
A private placement
The listed company completed a private placement of NIS 34 million.
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2011
A change of control, and a continuing stake
Shikun & Binui merged its Berlin activity into the company and became the controlling shareholder, with 48 percent. After the merger, the yielding Berlin portfolio was about NIS 1 billion, with occupancy of 94.5 percent. He remained a significant shareholder, with about 25 percent.
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2012–2013
Later investors
The company later brought in Harel, in 2012, and Stenham, in 2013. By then he was no longer the controlling shareholder.
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2015
Frankfurt IPO
The company he founded went on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. In July 2015, subsidiary ADO Properties S.A. listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) at a market capitalization of €700 million, in a €415 million offering (€456.5 million including the over-allotment). At listing, the company owned approximately 13,700 residential units in Berlin, with a portfolio valued at about €1.2 billion. He was not the controlling shareholder; he still held almost 6 percent of the TASE parent.
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2016
Exit completed
He sold his ADO holdings in stages, completing his exit in 2016.
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2018
The platform after listing
By the end of 2018, the market capitalization of ADO Properties had reached about €2.0 billion, roughly triple the listing value. His lead partner, Shikun & Binui, booked roughly NIS 700 million in capital gains from the investment.
03 Community
The work that came before the buildings.
Community has been part of his life since he was young, long before he built a business. What follows is stated modestly, and only where it can be said plainly.
Community
Maccabi World Union
He was involved in establishing the Maccabi World Union nonprofit, as part of a broader communal effort. He did not found the organization alone.
2006–2011 · Berlin
C/O Berlin at the Postfuhramt
From 2006 to 2011 he hosted C/O Berlin at the Postfuhramt. The gallery was founded in 2000 by Stephan Erfurt, Marc Naroska and Ingo Pott; he did not found it. As the building’s owner, he gave the institution a home and supported the exhibitions held there, in the belief that art can be a bridge, including between Israeli and Arab artists.
Quiet giving
Families, and Chabad
Over many years he has supported families in need, and has been a long-time supporter of a Chabad house. That work was never intended as a public performance, and it is mentioned here only because a life is larger than the buildings one has bought or sold.
04 In the press
Contemporary accounts.
Selected third-party articles from the years in which the Berlin platform was built and later listed. Each link goes to the original publication.
- Des Kaisers neue KuppelOn plans to make the Postfuhramt an urban place for living, culture, retail and events.
- Moderne Wohnungen in den Ställen des alten PostfuhramtsOn the conversion of the historic Postfuhramt.
- Wohnen und Shoppen im PostfuhramtOn the purchase of the Postfuhramt and plans for the building.
- שיכון ובינוי תרכוש עם קייזמן נכסים בגרמניה בהשקעה של 300 מיליון אירוOn the partnership with Shikun & Binui to acquire Berlin assets.
- Wo die Post abgehtC/O Berlin asked the new owner for space in the Postfuhramt, and he agreed.
- עדי קייזמן יוצק לשלד הבורסאי אי.די.או אירופה פעילות בשווי חצי מיליארד שקלOn bringing the Berlin residential business to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange through ADO Europe.
- שלמה זוהר ועדי קייזמן מצרפים גם את אלי רגימוב לאיי.די.אוOn a completed private placement of NIS 34 million.
- רווח של 37 מיליון שקל לאיי.די.או ברבעון השניOn the first quarter after the merger with Shikun & Binui, when the Berlin portfolio reached about NIS 1 billion, with occupancy of 94.5 percent.
- לקראת גל קניות בברלין: איידיאו גייסה הון וחוב של 754 מיליון שקלOn a completed Israeli capital and debt package of NIS 754 million, after the change of control.
- ADO Properties: verhaltener BörsenstartOn the Frankfurt listing of ADO Properties.
- ADO השלימה גיוס הון של כ-1.7 מיליארד שקל בפרנקפורטOn the Frankfurt IPO of ADO Properties, a €415 million offering.
- ADO raises NIS 1.7b on Frankfurt Stock ExchangeOn the Frankfurt IPO of ADO Properties.
05 Writing
Essays on markets, partnership, and community.
Short pieces in his own name, on seeing a market early, on building with an institutional partner, and on the work that does not appear in a company filing.
Essay
Before a market is obvious: the signals I still look for
By the time a market is on every investor's slide deck, the easy part of the opportunity is usually gone. Here are the signals I look for earlier.
Read the essayEssay
What I learned partnering with an institutional player
An entrepreneur brings speed and conviction, and an institution brings capital and discipline. Here's what I learned building ADO's Berlin portfolio with Shikun & Binui.
Read the essayEssay
From private portfolio to public company: what an IPO really demands
Listing a real estate company is less about the day of the IPO and more about the years of preparation before it. Lessons from Tel Aviv 2008 and Frankfurt 2015.
Read the essayEssay
From Berlin to Los Angeles: what US investors can learn from European residential
I spent more than a decade building a residential platform in Berlin. Now I invest in Los Angeles. Some lessons travel well across the Atlantic.
Read the essayCommunity
What building in Berlin taught me about building bridges
A building can house people. It can also bring them into the same room. Here is what Berlin taught me about both.
Read the essayCommunity
Community came before the buildings
Long before Berlin, I was learning a simpler lesson: you don't wait until you are established to start showing up for other people.
Read the essayCommunity
The work you do without a headline
Some of the most important work in a life never appears in a company filing. I want to say a few words about that part of mine.
Read the essay06 Contact