Apax Partners LLP is a British
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
firm, headquartered in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in
New York,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. As of December 2017, the firm, including its various predecessors, have raised approximately $51
billion
Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions:
*1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English.
* 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...
(USD) since 1981.
Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis,
ranked the fifteenth largest private equity firm globally.
Apax invests exclusively in certain business sectors including:
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s,
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
,
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
and
consumer products
A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but t ...
,
healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
and
financial
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
and business services. Looks for a target Enterprise Value of $1,000mm - $5,000mm.
Apax raises capital for its investment funds through
institutional investors including corporate and public
pension funds, university and college
endowments,
foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
and
fund of funds
A "fund of funds" (FOF) is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in stocks, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment. A ...
. One of the firm's co-founders,
Alan Patricof
Alan Patricof (born 22 October 1934) is an American investor, one of the early pioneers of the venture capital and private equity industries. He founded Apax Partners (based on a play on Patricof's name: Alan Patricof Associates Cross (x) Border) ...
, was an early investor in
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
and
America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
(AOL).
History
Apax Partners Worldwide is the product of the combination of three firms:
*Patricof & Co., founded in 1969 in New York by pioneering venture capitalist Alan Patricof;
*Multinational Management Group (MMG), founded in 1972 by
Sir Ronald Cohen
Sir Ronald Mourad Cohen (born 1 August 1945) is an Egyptian-born British businessman and political figure. He is the chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures.Klion Forum with Sir Ronald Cohen: "Why Do We Need Social Capital Market ...
and Maurice Tchénio;
[Patricof & Co. Ventures Strategically Takes On 'Apax Partners' Name in Plan to Fortify Leading Global Private Equity Role]
''Business Wire'', Sept 10, 2001.
*Saunders Karp & Megrue, founded in 1988 by
Thomas A. Saunders III
Thomas A. Saunders III (born 1937) is an American investment banker and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of the private equity firm Saunders Karp & Megrue and the chairman of The Heritage Foundation.
Early life
Saunders graduated from the V ...
and Allan W. Karp and joined by John Megrue in 1992.
Patricof & Co. and MMG
In 1969, Alan Patricof founded Patricof & Co. a firm dedicated to making investments in "development capital" later known as "venture capital," primarily in small early-stage companies. Patricof, one of the early venture capitalists, was involved in the development of numerous major companies including
America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
,
Office Depot,
Cadence Design Systems,
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
and
FORE Systems
FORE Systems was a computer network switching equipment company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1990 to supply Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cards for workstation computers, it soon branched out to become a major supplier in the AT ...
. In 1975, Patricof launched 53rd Street Ventures, a $10 million vehicle.
Meanwhile, in 1972,
Sir Ronald Cohen
Sir Ronald Mourad Cohen (born 1 August 1945) is an Egyptian-born British businessman and political figure. He is the chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures.Klion Forum with Sir Ronald Cohen: "Why Do We Need Social Capital Market ...
and Maurice Tchénio, along with two other partners, founded Multinational Management Group (MMG) with offices in London, Paris, and Chicago. MMG initially was established as an advisory firm, working with small emerging companies, rather than an investment firm. However, MMG initially struggled to gain traction amid the negative economic conditions, particularly in the UK in the mid-1970s.
By 1977, two of the original four founding partners had left MMG, leaving Cohen and Tchénio in need of a partner to help rejuvenate their firm. In that year, Cohen approached Alan Patricof to join them and run the new firm's investments in the U.S. The new firm would be known as Alan Patricof Associates (APA) and ultimately come to be known as Apax Partners (based on a play on Patricof's name: Alan Patricof Associates Cross (x) Border). Following the merger, MMG abandoned its advising business, and the new APA shifted its focus exclusively to investing in
start-up companies.
1980s-21st century
Throughout the 1980s, the firm grew steadily raising capital under a series of separate funds. As the 1980s progressed, the firm introduced its first later stage venture fund in 1984, its first
growth capital
Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new mark ...
fund in 1987 and its first dedicated European
leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...
fund MMG Patricof European Buy-In Fund in 1989.
[Source: ]Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial was an arm of the Thomson Corporation, an information provider. When the Thomson Corporation merged with Reuters to form Thomson Reuters in April 2008, Thomson Financial was merged with the business of Reuters to form the Market ...
's VentureXper
www.venturexpert.com
In response to the changing conditions, in the venture capital industry in the 1980s Apax (and other early venture capital firms including
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...
and
J.H. Whitney & Company) began to transition away from venture capital toward leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments, which were in vogue in that decade.
[POLLACK, ANDREW. ]
Venture Capital Loses Its Vigor
" ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 8, 1989. This trend was more prevalent in Europe than the U.S. where Patricof preferred to continue focusing on venture investments.
In 1991, Apax Partners became the official name for all of its European operations 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.
In 2000, Patricof & Co. adopted the Apax Partners branding and formalized its affiliation with its European business. The U.S. business would operate as Apax Partners, Inc.
The following year, Patricof stepped back from day-to-day management of Apax Partners, Inc., the US arm of the firm to return to his original focus on making venture capital investments in small early-stage companies. In 2006, Patricof left Apax to form
Greycroft Partners
Greycroft is an American venture capital firm. It manages over $2 billion in capital with investments in companies such as Bird, Bumble, HuffPost, Goop, Scopely, The RealReal, and Venmo. Greycroft was founded in 2006 by Alan Patricof, Dana Set ...
which focuses on small early-stage venture capital investments.
Despite the closer relations between the U.S. and European teams, the firm still operated separate fund entities for each geography. The European side of the business began to pull away in terms of capital commitments, raising more than $5 billion for its 2004 vintage European fund but just $1 billion for its 2006 U.S. vintage fund.
Saunders Karp & Megrue
In 2005, Apax announced it would acquire middle market
leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...
firm
Saunders Karp & Megrue to augment its buyout business in the United States. Saunders Karp, formerly based in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
, was founded in 1989 by Thomas A. Saunders III and Allan W. Karp. John Megrue, who today serves as co-chairman of
Bridgewater Associates
Bridgewater Associates is an American investment management firm founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. The firm serves institutional clients including pension funds, endowments, foundations, foreign governments, and central banks.
It utilizes a glob ...
, had worked as a principal at
Patricof & Co. before joining Saunders Karp in 1992. Saunders Karp had received capital commitments from
institutional investors including
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...
,
the General Electric Pension Trust,
Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group,
HarbourVest Partners
HarbourVest Partners is a private equity fund of funds and one of the largest private equity investment managers globally. The firm invests in all types of private equity funds, including venture capital and leveraged buyout funds, and also dire ...
,
JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management,
New York State Common Retirement Fund and
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...
, among others.
Investments
;Pre-2000
* In 1998, Apax invested in Neurodynamics Limited, which was the parent of
Autonomy Corporation
HP Autonomy, previously Autonomy Corporation PLC, was an enterprise software company which was merged with Micro Focus in 2017. It was founded in Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1996.
Autonomy was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in October 201 ...
.
*
British Telecom restructured, and agreed to sell the
Yell Group
Hibu Inc. (styled hibü), formerly Yellowbook Inc., is a provider of digital marketing and advertising solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses across the US. Hibu’s specialties includes web development and hosting, digital listings and ...
Yellow pages
The yellow pages are telephone directories of businesses, organized by category rather than alphabetically by business name, in which advertising is sold. The directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for ...
directory business to Apax and
Lion Capital LLP
Lion Capital LLP is a British private equity firm specialising in investments in the consumer sector. Previous and current consumer brands owned by Lion have included Weetabix, Jimmy Choo, Wagamama, Kettle Foods and AllSaints.
The firm is headq ...
for £2.14 billion/$3.5 billion, making it then the largest non-corporate LBO in European history. Yell bought US directories publisher McLeodUSA for about $600 million the following year, and floated on London's
FTSE in 2003.
;2004
*Apax purchased
PCM Uitgevers
DPG Media Group is a Belgian media company also active in the Netherlands and Denmark. It is owned by the Van Thillo family and employs some 6,000 people.
Divisions
The DPG Media Group operates through three national subsidiaries:
* DPG Media ...
.
;2005
* Apax purchased a majority stake in
Travelex
Travelex is a foreign exchange company founded by Lloyd Dorfman and headquartered in Peterborough. Its main businesses are foreign currency exchange, issuing prepaid credit cards for use by travellers, supplying central banks with foreign curre ...
(the world's largest foreign exchange company) for £1.06bn. In Q3 2005 Apax also announced plans to purchase
Grupo Panrico, one of
Spain's largest food companies and its largest bakery company.
* A partnership consisting of Apax,
Saban Capital Group
Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Comm ...
and Arkin Communications acquired the controlling interest (30%) in Israeli telecommunications company
Bezeq
Bezeq ( he, בזק) is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes).
History
Bezeq was foun ...
in October 2005 for $923 million. The partnership sold its stake to Internet Gold – Golden Lines Ltd. subsidiary
B Communications
Bezeq ( he, בזק) is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes).
History
Bezeq was f ...
in April 2010 for $1.75 billion.
* As part of the Violet Acquisitions consortium (along with
Barclays Capital
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
and
Robert Tchenguiz
Robert Tchenguiz (born 9 September 1960) is a British entrepreneur, property investor, activist shareholder and securities dealer. The younger brother of Vincent Tchenguiz, he undertook a series of corporate deals, focusing particularly on proper ...
) Apax is involved in the December 2005 purchase of
Somerfield
Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operati ...
. Somerfield was later sold to
The Co-operative Group
Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care.
The Co-op ...
in March 2009.
* Apax floated the satellite communications company Inmarsat on the London Stock Exchange in 2015.
;2006
* Apax purchased the
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
Tommy Hilfiger B.V. (), formerly known as Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and Tommy Hilfiger Inc., is an American clothing brand, manufacturing apparel, footwear, accessories, fragrances and home furnishings. The company was founded in 1985, and the ...
for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, all in cash. In May 2006, this deal was approved by the shareholders of Tommy Hilfiger.
* In June 2006, Apax acquired
HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Soph ...
in a take-private transaction.
* Apax acquired a majority stake in
Pictage, Inc. the leading provider of online solutions for professional wedding and portrait photographers. Pictage, Inc. was co-founded by
Gary Fong
Gary Fong (born December 6, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, author, former wedding photographer, film director, producer and screenwriter.
Wedding photography career
Originally a musician, while pursuing a degree in Pharmacology to appeas ...
.
* On 21 August 2006 it was announced that Apax Partners and
Bain Capital
Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
had joined the enlarged private equity consortium headed by
KKR that has agreed to acquire an 80.1% stake in the Semiconductor Division of
Royal Philips Electronics
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...
. The new company is called
NXP Semiconductors.
* On 31 October 2006 it was announced that Apax Partners had acquired FTMSC (
France Télécom Mobile Satellite Communications) which would later be rebranded under the
Vizada
Vizada is a worldwide satellite communications service provider which operates earth ground stations that connect satellite communications to terrestrial telecommunications and IP networks. Vizada provides both mobile and fixed satellite telecom ...
name in June 2007. This was shortly followed by an announcement on 6 September 2007 explaining that Apax Partners had acquired
Telenor
Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, ...
Satellite Services which was to be merged into the Vizada brand.
* On 20 November 2006 Apax Partners Worldwide LLP won a tender to buy control of
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. ...
. The bid values the privately held food and dairy group at $1.025 billion.
;2007
* In May 2007, Apax signed definitive agreements with funds advised by Apax Partners and
OMERS Capital Partners under which such funds acquired the higher education, careers and library reference assets of
Thomson Learning Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson Mi ...
, and a consortium of funds advised by
OMERS
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is a Canadian public pension fund, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. OMERS is a defined benefit, jointly sponsored, multi-employer public pension plan created in 1962 by Ontario provinc ...
, and Apax acquired
Nelson Canada
Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in West Bow, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1798, as the namesake of its founder. It is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, the publishing unit of News Corp. It describes itself as a "world leading publisher a ...
, for a combined total value of approximately $7.75 billion in cash. The higher education, careers and library reference assets include such well-known brands and businesses as: Wadsworth, South-Western, Delmar Learning, Eddie Diamond, Gale, Heinle, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology and Nelson Canada. Nelson Canada is a leading provider of books and online resources for the educational market in Canada. The group will be majority-owned by OMERS. The name was changed to
Cengage Learning, on 24 July 2007.
* Apax sells PCM Uitgevers.
;2008
*In January 2008 Apax and
Mivtach Shamir purchased the
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. ...
company for $1.025 billion.
* In August 2008, Apax Partners completed acquisition of
TriZetto Group.
;2009
* In August 2009, Apax Partners completed acquisition of
Bankrate.
;2010
* In January 2010, Apax Partners acquired 76.8% of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
-based
Psagot Investment House for $570 million.
* In April 2010, Apax Partners announced acquisition of TIVIT.
* In May 2010, Apax Partners acquired a 70% stake in
Sophos for $580 million.
;2011
* On 25 March 2011 Apax Partners announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to purchase
Trader Corporation
Trader Corporation is a Canadian technology company based in Toronto specializing in automotive retail solutions and classified automotive advertising. The company's flagship product is AutoTrader, an online marketplace for buying and selling new ...
(“Trader”) from
Yellow Media
Yellow Pages Limited (formerly Yellow Pages Income Fund and Yellow Media) is a Canadian publication and internet services company that owns and operates Canadian properties and publications including ''Yellow Pages'' directories, YellowPages.ca, an ...
for a purchase price consideration of $745M.
* On 23 December 2011 Apax Partners announced acquisition of the Swiss branch of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
.
;2012
* In February 2012, Apax sold
HiT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Soph ...
to
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
for $680 million.
* On 11 June 2012 an Apax-led consortium announced acquisition of Paradigm Ltd.
* In September 2012, Apax Partners forms consortium with CEO Stephen Cretier for GardaWorld Security Services.
* In November 2012, Apax Partners agrees to acquire
Cole Haan
Cole Haan is an American brand of men's and women's footwear and accessories that serves markets worldwide. The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Cole Haan currently has its headquarters in both New York City and Greenland, New Ha ...
and completes acquisition 4 February 2013.
;2014
* On 21 January 2014 Apax bought out the remaining 50.1% share of Trader Media from the Guardian Media Group.
* On 8 December 2014 Apax announced that it had entered into a transaction agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of
EVRY
EVRY A/S was a Norwegian information technology company that supplies services relating to computing, including operation, outsourcing, and online banking. The company is headquartered in Oslo. It was established through a merger between EDB Bu ...
.
* On 9 October 2014 Apax announced that they will acquire
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
software maker
Exact. It closed the transaction in April 2015.
;2015
* 2015 Apax bought 100% of Spanish real state web portal
idealista.com
* In May 2015, Apax Partners agreed to purchase
Quality Distribution, a Tampa, Florida-based chemical transport and logistics firm, for $800 million, including assumption of debt. The deal was completed in August 2015.
* In December 2015, Apax Partners agreed to sell Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia SpA to
LKQ Corporation for $1.14 billion.
;2016
* On 19 July 2016 Apax Partners agrees to acquire
Boats Group
Boats Group is a Miami, Florida, United States, based advertising and software company for the marine industry with niche titles: YachtWorld, BoatTrader.com, boats.com, Annonces du Bateau, Boten te Koop, Cosas de Barcos, Boatshop24, Boats and ...
. Formerly Dominion Marine Media ("DMM"), a subsidiary of
Landmark Media Enterprises.
;2017
* 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.
* In September 2017,
Tom Chapman
Thomas Louis Chapman (born 15 May 1972, Chevreuse, France) is a Franco British musician, producer and songwriter, best known as being the bass guitarist of English rock band New Order. He is also one of the founding members of Anglo-American g ...
and Ruth Chapman sold a majority stake of
Matchesfashion.com to private-equity funds managed by Apax Partners.
;2019
* In January 2019, Apax Partners invested US$200 million in
Fractal Analytics
Fractal Analytics is a multinational artificial intelligence company that provides services in consumer packaged goods, insurance, healthcare, life sciences, retail and technology, and the financial sector. Headquartered in New York, it has a prese ...
.
* In May 2019, Apax Partners purchased New Zealand
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
company
Trade Me
Trade Me is New Zealand's largest online auction and classifieds website. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan (entrepreneur), Sam Morgan, who sold it to John Fairfax Holdings, Fairfax in ...
for US$1.7 billion.
* In July 2019, funds advised by Apax Partners acquired
Baltic Classifieds Group, a business owning a portfolio of portals in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
;2020
* In April 2020, Apax Partners finalized the purchase of Coalfire, a cybersecurity firm.
*In Dec 2020, Azentio Software Private Limited, subsidiary of Apax Partners, buys global software products business of 3i Infotech for Rs. 1000 Cr
;2021
*Apax acquired
EveryAction from
Insight Partners
Insight Partners (previously Insight Venture Partners) is an American venture capital and private equity firm based in New York City. The firm invests in growth-stage technology, software and Internet businesses.
History
Insight Partners was fo ...
and
Social Solutions from
Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners is an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data, and technology-enabled startup businesses. Vista has invested in hundreds of companies, including Misys, Ping Identity, and Marketo.
The ...
, 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.
Criticism
British United Shoe machinery (2000)
The circumstances surrounding the demerger, transfer of assets and subsequent collapse of the
British United Shoe Machinery
British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd. with head office in Belgrave, Leicester, England, was formed around the turn of the 20th century as a subsidiary of United Shoe Machinery Company of the US, becoming part of a group which for most of t ...
in 2000 led to questions about Apax's behaviour being raised in Parliament by MPs of both main parties. After calls for an enquiry into the loss of hundreds of pensions were refused,
Ros Altmann
Rosalind Miriam Altmann, Baroness Altmann, (born 8 April 1956) is a British life peer, leading UK pensions expert, and political campaigner. She was appointed to the House of Lords following the 2015 general election as a Conservative, but d ...
, 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
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
said, "I think these people needed flogging ..these are greedy, selfish, capitalists who live on the backs of others."
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. In February 2018 the liquidators abandoned their UK case against Apax and TPG after four days of trial.
Notable persons
*
Jonathan Kestenbaum, Baron Kestenbaum
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(born 1959), chief operating officer of investment trust
RIT Capital Partners
RIT Capital Partners plc, formerly Rothschild Investment Trust, is a large British investment trust dedicated to investments in quoted securities and quoted special situations. Established in 1961, the company is listed on the London Stock Excha ...
, and a
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
See also
*
Scott Mead
References
External links
*
How I rode the rising wave of private equity" The Sunday Times, November 4, 2007
{{Authority control
Private equity firms of the United Kingdom
Conglomerate companies of the United Kingdom
Financial services companies based in London
Companies based in the City of Westminster
Financial services companies established in 1969
1969 establishments in England
British companies established in 1969
Conglomerate companies established in 1969