Apax X agrees to sell stake in idealista
The Apax X Fund (“Apax X”), in which Apax Global Alpha Limited (“AGA”) is a limited partner, has announced the sale of its minority stake in idealista, a leading online real estate classifieds platform in Southern Europe, to Cinven.
Including prior distributions, this transaction will deliver a total gross MOIC of 2.1x1 and a gross IRR of 24%1 for Apax X. The transaction values AGA’s look-through investment in idealista at approximately €14.8m. This represents an uplift of c.9.6% to the last Unaffected Valuation2 and an uplift of c.€1.3m in the Adjusted Net Asset Value (“Adjusted NAV”) of AGA at 31 March 2024. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024, subject to regulatory approval.
Note that these figures relate to AGA’s look-through position of Apax X’s overall investment in idealista and are stated before taking into account any closing adjustments, fees, costs, and carried interest, and are translated based on the latest exchange rates available where applicable3.
Apax X invested in idealista for a minority stake in February 2021 following Apax VIII’s sale of the company to EQT. The transaction coincided with the merger of idealista’s Italian business with Casa.it, presenting Apax X with the opportunity to invest in a business Apax knew well and to support the co-founders to further scale the business internationally.
This follows significant value creation under the ownership of Apax VIII which first invested in idealista in 2015. Over the course of the Apax Funds’ 9-year ownership, idealista has grown revenues by more than 7x and headcount by more than 4x.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madrid, idealista provides an online real estate classifieds marketplace for homebuyers and sellers. Its online platform and diversified portfolio of digital services, including CRM tools, data analytics, and online mortgage brokerage, help enable efficient real estate transactions. Today, idealista connects around 60 thousand real estate agents with over 38 million unique monthly visitors generating over one billion visits annually across southern Europe.
The Apax Funds have a strong track record of investing in online marketplace businesses throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, and have invested over $4.8bn of equity in 14 companies that operate some of the world’s leading online marketplaces for real estate, automotive, boats, jobs and consumer financial products.
AGA, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors with access to the Apax Private Equity Funds and a smaller portfolio of mostly debt investments. In 2019, AGA made a commitment of c.$450m4 to Apax X.
Contact details
Investor Relations – AGA
Katarina Sallerfors
T: +44 7436908492
E: katarina.sallerfors@apax.com
Footnotes
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- Gross MOIC and Gross IRR shown for Apax X EUR Fund
- Unaffected Valuation is determined as the fair value in the last quarter before exit, when valuation is not affected by the exit process (i.e. because an exit was signed, or an exit was sufficiently close to being signed that the Apax Funds incorporated the expected exit multiple into the quarter end valuation)
- Based on Bloomberg closing EUR/USD FX rate on 26 June 2024 of 1.0681
- AGA’s commitment in Apax X of c.$450m represents a commitment of $225m in the USD tranche and €199.8m in the euro tranche
Notes
- Note that references in this announcement to Apax Global Alpha Limited have been abbreviated to “AGA” or “the Company”. References to Apax Partners LLP have been abbreviated to “Apax”, or “the Investment Adviser”
- Please be advised that this announcement may contain inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) NO. 596/2014 (“MAR”)
- This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, into or within the United States or to “US persons” (as defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)) or into or within Australia, Canada, South Africa or Japan. Recipients of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the UK should inform themselves about and observe any applicable legal requirements in their jurisdictions. In particular, the distribution of the announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions
- The information presented herein is not an offer for sale within the United States of any equity shares or other securities of Apax Global Alpha Limited (“AGA”). AGA has not been and will not be registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, AGA’s shares (the “Shares”) have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States. Consequently, the Shares may not be offered or sold or otherwise transferred within the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, US Persons, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and under circumstances which will not require AGA to register under the Investment Company Act. No public offering of the Shares is being made in the United States
- This announcement may include forward-looking statements. The words “expect”, “anticipate”, “intends”, “plan”, “estimate”, “aim”, “forecast”, “project” and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding AGA’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, AGA’s results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies. The forward-looking statements in this presentation are based on numerous assumptions regarding AGA’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which AGA will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AGA to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond AGA’s ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as AGA’s ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which AGA operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Past performance should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of future results, and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made regarding future performance. AGA expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect any change in AGA’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based after the date of this announcement, or to update or to keep current any other information contained in this announcement. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement.
About Apax Global Alpha Limited
AGA is a Guernsey registered closed-ended investment Company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
AGA’s objective is to provide shareholders with capital appreciation from its investment portfolio and regular dividends. The Company is targeting an annualised Total Return, across economic cycles, of 12-15% (net of fees and expenses) including a dividend yield of 5% of Net Asset Value.
The Company makes Private Equity investments in Apax Funds, and has a portfolio of primarily debt investments, derived from the insights gained via Apax’s Private Equity activities.
Further information regarding the Company and its publications are available on the Company’s website at www.apaxglobalalpha.com.
About Apax
Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For over 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $77 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech, Services, Healthcare and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax, please visit www.apax.com.
Apax is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.