The Apax Digital Fund to acquire Solita
The Apax Digital Fund has today announced that it has agreed to acquire Solita, a leading digital transformation company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. This marks the Apax Digital Fund’s fourth deal and its first buyout.
Founded in 1996, Solita provides a range of services including strategic consulting, service design, artificial intelligence, analytics, and managed cloud services to its growing domestic and international client base. The company has a differentiated offering, leveraging data to drive insights which underpin clients’ digital transformation processes, and a strong track record of delivering high quality work. With backing from the Apax Digital Fund, Solita will look to accelerate growth in its native Finland and to expand internationally.
AGA, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors with access to the investment expertise of Apax Partners through its investments in a diversified portfolio of private equity funds advised by Apax Partners as well as derived investments in debt and equity. In June 2017, AGA made a commitment of $50m to the Apax Digital Fund.
The Apax Digital Fund to acquire Solita
The investment will accelerate growth and international expansion
The Apax Digital Fund, a growth equity fund advised by global private equity advisory firm Apax Partners, today announces the acquisition of a majority stake in leading Finnish digital transformation company Solita from Vaaka Partners. Solita management will acquire a minority stake in the business, alongside the Apax Digital Fund. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
Solita is a digital transformation company driven by data and human insight. The company provides a range of services, including strategic consulting, service design, artificial intelligence, analytics, and managed cloud services, to its fast-growing international client roster. The company was founded in 1996 and employs more than 650 digital specialists across Finland, Sweden, Singapore, and Estonia.
The investment from the Apax Digital Fund will enable Solita to boost growth in its native Finland and accelerate its international expansion, both organically and through potential acquisitions.
Jari Niska, President and CEO of Solita, commented: “We are highly committed to be our customers’ trusted advisor on their transformation journey towards a better future, and are proud of our company’s accomplishments to date, which include a near tripling of our team and revenue over the last five years. We are especially happy to have achieved this while nurturing a unique and inspiring culture. We are now delighted to partner with the Apax Digital Fund as we embark on the next stage of Solita’s growth and believe their team’s insight and experience with other leading digital transformation companies will be invaluable as we continue to expand our business.”
“We are hugely excited to partner with Solita, the leader in digital transformation in Finland, and support Jari and his talented team in developing a pan-Nordic champion,” said Mark Beith, Managing Director of Apax Digital. “Solita has an outstanding end-to-end offering, with worldclass, cross-functional teams helping customers all the way – from crafting their strategy and designing their architecture to developing cutting-edge software and integrating best-in-class data and analytics.”
Marcelo Gigliani, Managing Partner of Apax Digital, said, “The world’s most successful companies are increasingly embracing agile technology solutions to address their digital transformations and enhance their competitive advantages. Solita has a long and proven track record in supporting its clients’ digital efforts, through its unwavering focus on innovation, excellence, and people. We aim to leverage Apax’s deep experience investing in leading global digital services companies to accelerate Solita’s growth plans.”
The investment in Solita is the Apax Funds’ tenth IT services investment. Previous notable investments in the sector include Wizeline (an Apax Digital Fund investment), GlobalLogic, ThoughtWorks, EVRY, Engineering, and Zensar.
Contact details
Investor enquiries
Sarah Wojcik
IR Manager – AGA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7666 6573
Email: sarah.wojcik@apax.com
Media enquiries
Andrew Kenny
Head of Communications
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7872 6371
Email: andrew.kenny@apax.com
About Apax Global Alpha Limited
AGA is a Guernsey registered closed-ended collective investment scheme incorporated as a non-cellular company that listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 June 2015. 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 investment policy of the Company is to make Private Equity investments in Apax Funds, and Derived Investments which are investments in equities and debt derived from the insights gained via Apax Partners’ Private Equity activities. The Company’s portfolio is expected to be allocated in approximately equal proportions between Private Equity and Derived Investments, although the investment mix will fluctuate over time due to market conditions, investment opportunities, cash flow requirements, the dividend policy and other factors. Further information regarding the Company and its publications are available on the Company’s website at www.apaxglobalalpha.com.
About Apax Digital
Apax Digital advises the Apax Digital Fund, which specializes in growth equity and buyout investments in high-growth enterprise software, internet, and technology-enabled services companies worldwide. Apax Digital leverages Apax Partners’ deep tech investing expertise, global platform, and specialized operating experts, to enable technology companies and their management teams to accelerate the achievement of their full potential. For further information, please visit http://digital.apax.com.
Over its more than 35-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of over $50 billion. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit http://apax.com.