Apax Partners

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Apax Partners LLP
Company typePrivate
IndustryPrivate equity
Venture capital
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972)
HeadquartersLondon, England
Key people
Andrew Sillitoe (co-CEO)
Mitch Truwit (co-CEO)[1]
ProductsInvestments
Private equity funds
Leveraged buyouts
Growth capital
AUMUS$65 billion[2]
Number of employees
100+
Websitewww.apax.com

Apax Partners LLP is a British

billion (USD).[5] Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.[6]

Apax invests across four sectors: technology, internet/consumer, healthcare and services.[5] It looks for investments in a target Enterprise Value of $100mm – $5,000mm.

Apax raises capital for its investment funds through

foundations and fund of funds
.

History

History of private equity
and venture capital
Early history
(origins of modern private equity)
The 1980s
(leveraged buyout boom)
The 1990s
(leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble)
The 2000s
(dot-com bubble to the credit crunch)
The 2010s
(expansion)
The 2020s
(COVID-19 recession)

In 1972,[7][8] Ronald Mourad Cohen and Maurice Tchénio founded the advisory firm Multinational Management Group (MMG) in London, Paris, and Chicago, marking the beginning of Apax Partners.[9][10] In 1977, they formed a partnership with early venture capitalist Alan Patricof, who founded Patricof & Co in New York in 1969.[11][12] The new firm would be known as Alan Patricof Associates (APA) and ultimately come to be known as Apax Partners (apax means "unique" in classical Greek).[13]

Throughout the 1980s, the firm grew steadily raising capital under a series of separate funds.[14][15]

In 1991, Apax Partners became the official name for all of its European operations[16] however the U.S. business still operated under the Patricof & Co. name. By the mid-1990s Apax had become one of the larger private equity firms globally.[11]

In 2001, Patricof & Co. adopted the Apax Partners branding and formalized its affiliation with its European business.[17][18] In 2002, Apax Partners LLP was established.[19]

In 2005, Apax announced it would acquire middle market

Saunders Karp & Megrue to augment its buyout business in the United States.[20][21] In March 2006, Alan Patricof left Apax.[22]

In 2006, Apax Partners in London and Apax Partners France in Paris became independent.[23] Apax Partners France rebranded to Seven2 in 2023.[24]

Investments

Pre-2010

  • Yell Group Yellow pages directory business to Apax and Lion Capital LLP for £2.14 billion/$3.5 billion,[25] making it then the largest non-corporate LBO in European history. Yell bought US directories publisher McLeodUSA for about $600 million the following year,[26] and floated on London's FTSE in 2003.[27]
  • In May 2007, Apax signed definitive agreements with funds advised by Apax Partners and
    Cengage Learning
    , on 24 July 2007.
  • In August 2009, Apax Partners completed acquisition of Bankrate.[37]

2010–2014

  • In January 2010, Apax Partners acquired 76.8% of Israel-based Psagot Investment House for $570 million.[38]
  • In April 2010, Apax Partners announced acquisition of TIVIT.[39][40]
  • In May 2010, Apax Partners acquired a 70% stake in Sophos for $580 million.[41]
  • On 21 January 2014 Apax bought out the remaining 50.1% share of Trader Media from the Guardian Media Group.[47]
  • On 9 October 2014 Apax announced that they will acquire Dutch software maker Exact.[48] It closed the transaction in April 2015.[49]
  • On 8 December 2014 Apax announced that it had entered into a transaction agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of
    EVRY.[50]

2015–2019
  • On 23 August 2017 funds advised by Apax Partners announced a definitive agreement to acquire
    ThoughtWorks, a global software development and digital transformation consulting company.[54]
  • In September 2017,
    Matchesfashion.com to private-equity funds managed by Apax Partners.[55]

2020–present

  • In April 2020, Apax Partners finalized the purchase of Coalfire, a cybersecurity firm.[60]
  • In June 2020, Apax invested $100m in Payfone, a software and data analytics firm, today known as Prove Identity[61] and based in New York.[62]
  • In Dec 2020, Azentio Software Private Limited, subsidiary of Apax Partners, buys global software products business of 3i Infotech for Rs. 1000 Cr [63]
  • In January 2021, Apax acquired PIB Group, a specialist insurance company, together with PIB's management team.[64]
  • In February 2021, Apax acquired a majority stake in Herjavec Group, a global managed security services provider led by founder and CEO Robert Herjavec, who retained a significant stake.[65][66]
  • In March 2021, Apax Partners acquired Rodenstock, a German manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses and spectacle frames, for EUR1.5 billion.[67][68]
  • In March 2021, Apax also agreed to acquire Lutech, an IT service company in Italy, from One Equity Partners.[69]
  • In May 2021, Apax acquired Texas based, pet food company Nulo.[70]
  • In August 2021, Apax acquired EveryAction from Insight Partners and Social Solutions from Vista Equity Partners, combining them with CyberGrants, a company it agreed to acquire in June from Waud Capital Partners. Vista kept a minority stake in the combined company, which will have annual revenue of over $200 million.[71]
  • In September 2021, Apax joined with Warburg Pincus to acquire T-Mobile Netherlands Holding B.V., today known as Odido, in a transaction valuing the company at an enterprise value of EUR5.1 billion.[72][73]
  • In September 2021, Apax also acquired SavATree, a horticultural service provider, based in New York.[74]
  • In October 2021, Apax agreed to acquire the homeowner services group of American Water Works for $1.27 billion.[75]
  • In November 2021, UK satellite firm Inmarsat, partially owned by Apax, agreed to be acquired by Viasat for $7.3 billion.[76][77]
  • In December 2021, Apax sold Unilabs, a European medical diagnostics company acquired from Nordic Capital and Apax Partners France, today known as Seven2,[24] in 2016,[78] to A.P. Moller Holding, the owner of Maersk.[79]
  • In May 2023, Apax agreed to acquire Blackstone Inc.'s minority stake in IBS Software, a software-as-a-service provider for travel and logistics companies, investing an estimated $450m, with IBS Software founder and executive chairman, Valayil Korath Mathews, retaining the majority stake.[86]
  • In July 2023, Apax agreed with Fremman Capital and other minor stakeholders, to acquire a co-controlling stake in Spain's Palex Medical.[87]
  • In August 2023, Apax entered into an agreement with The Tornante Company, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner's private investment firm, and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire the Bazooka candy business for a sum of $700 million.[88]
  • In October 2023, Apax agreed to invest in GAN Integrity, a provider of cloud-based compliance management software, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.[89]
  • In November 2023, Apax, together with existing investors Frontier Growth, PeakSpan Capital, and Petvisor's management team, invested more than $100m in Petvisor, a veterinary and pet services software provider.[90]

Criticism

British United Shoe Machinery (2000)

The circumstances surrounding the demerger, transfer of assets and subsequent collapse of the

Ros Altmann, the pensions expert and, as of 2015, UK Pensions minister described it "one of the worst cases ..I have seen ..the actions of the former owners - Apax have been immoral." The Member of Parliament Ashok Kumar said, "I think these people needed flogging ..these are greedy, selfish, capitalists who live on the backs of others."[91][92]

Hellas Telecommunications (2015)

Following its sale of Wind Hellas in 2007, Apax and Hellas co-owner TPG were sued by former bondholders of the telecom company, who allege that Apax and TPG unjustifiably enriched themselves from Hellas and misrepresented the true state of its accounts. Apax has countered that some of these bondholders only began their dispute after passing up on the chance of selling prior to the bankruptcy of 2009, and that Apax sold the business in 2007 (almost three years before the bankruptcy) and so was not the legal owner of Hellas during the periods cited in some of the lawsuits. (In 2005 a New York judge awarded $56m to some of these bondholders, made against Hellas Telecommunications Finance and Hellas Finance, rather than Apax or TPG). Other lawsuits related to Apax and TPG's ownership of Hellas are being heard in the USA. In December 2015 a separate legal action brought by the liquidators of Hellas Telecommunications was dismissed by a Luxembourg court.[93][94][95][96][97] In February 2018 the liquidators abandoned their UK case against Apax and TPG after four days of trial.[98]

Notable persons

See also

References

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External links

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