REG - Apax Global Alpha Ld - 2024 Final Results
04/03/2025 07:00
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RNS Number : 1791Z Apax Global Alpha Limited 04 March 2025
(LSE:
APAX)
Apax Global Alpha Limited
Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2024
Apax Global Alpha (LON: APAX), the closed-ended investment company providing
access to the Apax Private Equity Funds, today announced its annual results
for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Key highlights
· AGA's Net Asset Value ("NAV") was €1.23bn (FY23 €1.29bn) at 31 December
2024, equivalent to a NAV per share of €2.51/£2.08. Movement in NAV was
mainly driven by a decrease in the Private Equity portfolio NAV and €69m
returned to shareholders through both dividend and share buybacks. This was
offset by supportive FX movements with the USD strengthening against the EUR.
· Total NAV Return(1) was 0.8% ((3.0%) constant currency) for the year ended 31
December 2024, impacted by the remaining healthcare (particularly the Vyaire
writeoff) and retail investments. The three core sectors of Tech, Services,
and Internet/Consumer all had net positive contributions to NAV.
· The Private Equity portfolio continues to demonstrate steady revenue and
earnings growth with c.82% exposure to the three most recent global buyout
fund vintages.
· AGA will deploy c.€166m on a look-through basis across nine Private Equity
investments signed and/or closed across three Funds during the year, Apax XI,
ADF II, and AGI.
· The Apax Funds saw continued momentum in exits with nine realisations signed
during 2024, delivering a gross MOIC of 2.6x excluding the writedown of Vyaire
(1.6x including Vyaire). The take private of Paycor was announced post-period
end and is expected to generate a gross MOIC of 3.3x on closing.
· The Debt portfolio, a unique feature of AGA, achieved a Total Return of 7.5%
(2.9% constant currency). Excluding the impact of Vyaire the Debt portfolio
would have achieved a Total Return of 13.2% (8.7% constant currency) in the
year ended 31 December 2024. Going forward, AGA will not invest in debt of
Apax Funds' portfolio companies.
· A new capital allocation framework was announced in June. This new framework
comprises regular dividends to shareholders and the creation of a
"Distribution Pool" which earmarks funds for share buybacks.
· €69m was returned to shareholders through both dividends (equivalent to a
dividend yield of 7.8%) and share buybacks during the year. Since IPO, AGA has
paid shareholders dividends amounting to €508m in total, equivalent to 57%
of IPO NAV.
· To improve transparency and reduce reliance on alternative performance
metrics, such as Adjusted NAV, the Board also agreed a change of the
performance fee settlement from shares in AGA to cash which means IFRS NAV
reflects the NAV due to investors. A reconciliation of NAV and Adjusted NAV
for prior periods is available in the 2024 Annual Report.
· On 1 March 2024, Karl Sternberg joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director
and replaced Tim Breedon as Chairman of the Board on 1 July 2024. Chris Ambler
retired as a Director on 1 March 2024, after nearly nine years in the role.
Alexander Denny joined the Board as a non-executive Director on 3 July 2024.
Karl Sternberg, Chairman of AGA, said:
"Whilst recent challenges have impacted short-term returns, the Board
believes the Apax 'Hidden Gems' strategy is sound and notes that underlying
portfolio company performance has remained encouraging with robust EBITDA
growth. It is reassuring to see the higher investment activity levels and we
are pleased to see the recent buyout investments are off to a good start.
The Board is very conscious of the discount and all options to allow
shareholders to benefit from the underlying value of the portfolio will be
explored. The Board has a clear capital allocation framework and AGA has
already returned more capital to shareholders than any of the peers since its
IPO. We will continue to maintain an open dialogue with our shareholders and
other stakeholders as we strive towards a fairer recognition by the market of
the full value of the Apax Funds portfolio."
Financial highlights
· AGA was well-capitalised at the end of December 2024, with calls in the next
12 months covered 2.4x.
· AGA was 96% invested as at 31 December 2024 and had unfunded commitments to
the Apax Funds (together with recallable distributions) of €837m.
· At 31 December 2024, AGA's invested portfolio was split 83% in Private Equity
and 17% in Debt Investments which includes the remaining two Derived Equity
positions.
· At year end, AGA had €48m in cash (including net current assets).
31 Dec 2024 (EUR) 31 Dec 2024 (GBP) 31 Dec 2023 (EUR) 31 Dec 2023 (GBP)
NAV/Adjusted NAV(4) 1,227m 1,015m 1,288m 1,116m
NAV/Adjusted NAV(4) per share 2.51 2.08 2.62 2.27
NAV(1) per share 2.51 2.08 2.64 2.28
% of NAV FY 2024 FY 2024
constant currency
Total NAV Return(1) 0.8% (3.0%)
Total Return(1) - Private Equity 80% (0.5%) (4.6%)
Total Return(1) - Debt Investments 16% 7.5% 2.9%
Total Return(1) - Derived Equity 0% 26.9% 19.2%
Cash & Others 4%
Portfolio highlights
· AGA offers access to a global portfolio of mostly private companies that are
not available to public market investors elsewhere.
· The Private Equity portfolio is diversified across investments in Tech (44% of
PE NAV), Services (32%), and Internet/Consumer (19%).
· More than c.82% of the Private Equity portfolio was made up of companies held
by the three most recent buyout fund vintages. This includes Apax IX which has
signed or closed six exits during the year and post-period end, Apax X which
is now reaching maturity and closed two full exits during 2024, and Apax XI
which is off to a good start, having signed 10 investments so far.
· AGA will deploy c.€166 million across nine Private Equity investments signed
and/or closed in the year. During the year, AGA received €62 million in
distributions, primarily from eight full or partial exits. Including exits
signed in 2024, an average gross MOIC of 1.6x was achieved. Post period-end,
the take private of Paycor was announced and is expected to generate a gross
MOIC of 3.3x on closing later in H1 2025.
· Portfolio companies reported average Last Twelve Months ("LTM") EBITDA(2)
growth of 14.1% (FY23(3) 16.5%). The decline from the prior period is
primarily driven by the remaining healthcare and retail investments and a
slowdown seen by consumer and cyclically exposed businesses (such as some tech
services companies).
· Capital not invested in Private Equity is primarily invested in Debt
Investments to absorb excess liquidity, thereby limiting cash drag, producing
additional returns, and enhancing the robustness of AGA's balance sheet.
· The Debt portfolio maintained a strong income yield(6) of c.8.3% and average
yield to maturity(6) of c.10.1% at 31 December 2024, with 66% of the Debt
Investments invested in more readily tradeable first lien loans and bonds.
· After exiting one position in FY 2024, AGA has two remaining Derived Equity
positions valued at €5.0m and representing less than 1% of the invested
portfolio at 31 December 2024.
The audited Annual Report and Accounts are available on the Company's website
at www.apaxglobalalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AGA-Annual-Report-2024.pdf
(https://www.apaxglobalalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AGA-Annual-Report-2024.pdf)
For further information regarding the announcement of AGA's 2024 Annual
Results, including the Company's results presentation and details for today's
analyst and investor webcast at 9.30am (UK time), please visit
www.apaxglobalalpha.com
(http://www.apaxglobalalpha.com/shareholder-information/results-and-publications)
.
Contact details
Investor relations Joint Brokers
Lorraine Rees / Aditya Jhaveri Jefferies International Limited
Investor Relations - AGA Gaudi Le Roux
T: +44 (0) 207 666 6526 Telephone: +44 (0)20 7548 4060
E: investor.relations@apaxglobalalpha.com Email: gleroux@jefferies.com
Investec Bank plc
David Yovichic
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7597 4952
Email: david.yovichic@investec.com
APPENDIX
Movements in NAV(4)
NAV movements (€m) Private Equity Debt Investments Derived Equity Cash Treasury Shares/ Facility drawn Other(7) FY 24 Total
Adjusted NAV at 31.12.23 890.7 288.2 15.0 101.4 - (7.7) 1,287.6
+ Investments 154.5 35.5 - (200.8) - 10.8 -
- Distributions/ divestments (61.8) (131.2) (12.5) 201.8 - 3.7 -
+ Interest and dividend income - - - 27.5 - (1.2) 26.3
+/- Gains/(losses) (42.7) (14.3) 1.5 - - - (55.5)
+/- FX gains/(losses)(8) 38.1 10.6 0.4 0.2 - - 49.3
+/- Costs and other movements - - - (8.6) - (0.1) (8.7)
- Dividends paid - - - (64.4) - - (64.4)
+/- Performance fee reserve(9) - 3.5 0.2 - (6.6) - (2.9)
+/- Shares purchased - - - (11.6) 6.6 - (5.0)
+/- Revolving credit facility - - - - - - -
drawn/repaid
NAV at 31.12.24 978.8 192.3 4.6 45.5 - 5.5 1,226.7
Private Equity - operational metrics
Private Equity - operational metrics 31 December 2024 31 December 2023(3)
Portfolio year-over-year LTM revenue growth(2) 8.9% 11.5%
Portfolio year-over-year LTM EBITDA growth(2) 14.1% 16.5%
Enterprise Value / EBITDA valuation multiple(2) 17.8x 16.6x
Net debt / EBITDA multiple(2) 4.5x 4.4x
Debt Investments - operational metrics
Debt Investments - operational metrics(6) 31 December 2024 31 December 2023
Debt average yield to maturity 10.1% 12.0%
Debt average years to maturity 3.9 4.4
Debt average income yield 8.3% 10.4%
Other Invested Portfolio highlights
Invested Portfolio analysis(10) €m €m % %
- AEVI 1.4
- AEVII 21.9
- AVIII 27.3
- AIX 224.6
- AX 449.8
- AXI 128.6
- AMI 20.0
- AMI II 4.6
- ADF 67.0
- ADF II 26.6
- AGI 7.0
Private Equity 978.8 83%
Debt Investments 194.8 17%
Derived Equity 5.0 0%
Total 1,178.6 100%
Footnotes
1 "Total NAV Return" means the movement in the Adjusted NAV per share or NAV per
share over the period plus any dividends paid. "Total Return" reflects the
sub-portfolio performance on a stand-alone basis. It excludes items at the
overall AGA level such as cash, management fees, and costs. Adjusted NAV is
used for periods before 1 January
2024, whilst NAV is used for periods thereafter.
2 Gross Asset Value weighted average of the respective metrics across the
portfolio. Investments can be excluded for reasons such as: investments in the
financial services sector; companies with negative EBITDA (or moving from
negative to positive EBITDA in the case of growth metrics); investments that
are written off; companies where EBITDA is not meaningful for company specific
reasons. Due to these adjustments, the comparatives may not be on a like for
like basis. LTM EBITDA Growth represents 90% of AGA's Private Equity portfolio
NAV, Net Debt / EBITDA Multiple and Enterprise Value / EBITDA Valuation
Multiple represents 85% of AGA's Private Equity portfolio NAV
3 December-23 Private Equity portfolio operating metrics reweighted based on
investments stated on a gross basis, without accounting for the impact of the
holdco facility. For summary of restatements please refer to page 119 of the
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
4 For the period from 1 January 2024 onwards, the NAV per share and Adjusted NAV
per share are equivalent as the performance fee accrues as a liability instead
of a share based equity reserve. For year ended 31 December 2023, Adjusted NAV
per share represents the Adjusted NAV divided by the total number of shares
5 Gross MOIC calculated based on return in the Funds underlying currency or
where AGA invests in two currency sleeves it represents the EUR converted
return
6 Debt operational metrics at 31 December 2024
7 Other reflects net current assets.
8 FX on cash includes the revaluation of cash balances and net gain or losses
arising from the differences in exchange rates between transaction dates and
settlement dates, and unrealised net gains or losses arising from the
translation into euro of assets and liabilities (other than investments) which
are not denominated in euro
9 Movement in the performance fee reserve reflects the performance fee accrued
by the Company at 31 December 2024 adjusted for performance fee paid in the
period. This does not represent the underlying Private Equity portfolio's
carried interest.
10 Invested Portfolio excludes cash and cash equivalents, revolving credit
facility drawn, net current assets, and performance fee accrued, including
these the NAV was €1,226.7m.
Notes
1. 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"
2. Please be advised that this announcement may contain inside information as
stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) NO. 596/2014 ("MAR")
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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).
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
(http://www.apaxglobalalpha.com) .
About Apax Partners LLP
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 nearly $80 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across three global
sectors of Tech, Services 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 (http://www.apax.com) .
Apax is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
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