REG - Apax Global Alpha Ld - Apax IX agrees to sell stake in AssuredPartners

Apax Global AlphaAnnouncement

10/12/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 4097P  Apax Global Alpha Limited  10 December 2024

Apax Global Alpha Limited

Apax IX agrees to sell stake in AssuredPartners

 

 

Apax IX Fund ("Apax IX"), in which Apax Global Alpha Limited ("AGA") is a
limited partner, has announced the full sale of its minority co-control stake
in AssuredPartners ("the Company"), a leading mid-market property, casualty
and employee benefits insurance brokerage, to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

 

This transaction is expected to deliver a gross MOIC of 2.5x(1) and gross IRR
of 16%(1) for Apax IX.  The transaction values AGA's look-through investment
in AssuredPartners at approximately €51m, representing a discount of c.10%
to the last Unaffected Valuation(2) or a decrease of c.€6m in Net Asset
Value ("NAV") of AGA at 30 September 2024. The transaction is expected to
close in Q1 2025, subject to the receipt of certain regulatory approvals and
customary closing conditions.

 

Note that these figures relate to AGA's look-through position of Apax IX's
overall investment in AssuredPartners 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 applicable(3).

 

Headquartered in Florida and founded in 2011, AssuredPartners is a middle
market insurance brokerage firm offering a range of services, including
commercial insurance, risk management, and employee benefits across the United
States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium.

 

The Apax Funds first invested in AssuredPartners in 2015 through a majority
recapitalisation led by Apax VIII. Following the exit of Apax VIII's
investment in AssuredPartners, Apax IX, alongside an investor group led by
GTCR, acquired a significant minority co-control (c.27%) stake in the Company
in February 2019.

 

In AssuredPartners, Apax IX saw the opportunity to leverage Apax's solid track
record of value creation in the insurance brokerage space through continued
consolidation, shift towards higher growth specialty segments, and margin
expansion through greater integration and scale. Furthermore, AssuredPartners
was an asset the Apax Funds knew well, allowing for good collaboration with
management from the outset.

 

Over the course of nine years, the Apax Funds supported the Company's growth
into a national leader in insurance brokerage. During Apax Funds' ownership,
AssuredPartners expanded rapidly, completing c.400 acquisitions as it
implemented its strategic M&A program and scaling its higher-growth
specialty segment through the acquisition of Keenan & Associates. The
Funds bolstered AssuredPartners' organic growth and profitability by investing
in operational improvements, including technology, salesforce, and
infrastructure capabilities, and supported the Company in recruiting key
talent including CIO Sankha Ghosh, CFO Mark Hammond, and CEO Randy Larsen.

 

AGA, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors
with access to a diversified portfolio of private equity funds advised by Apax
as well as a focused portfolio of mostly debt investments. In 2016, AGA made a
commitment of c. $350m to Apax IX(4).

 

For more information about the transaction, please
visit: https://www.apax.com/news/press-releases/
(https://www.apax.com/news/press-releases/)

 

END

 

Contact details:

Investor Relations - AGA

Lorraine Rees

M: +44 7889 089220

E: lorraine.rees@apax.com (mailto:lorraine.rees@apax.com) /
Investor.relations@apaxglobalalpha.com
(mailto:Investor.relations@apaxglobalalpha.com)

 

Footnotes

 1.  Gross MOIC and gross IRR shown for Apax IX EUR fund
 2.  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)
 3.  Based on USD/EUR FX rate on 6 December 2024 of 1.0568
 4.  AGA's commitment in Apax IX of c.$350m represents a commitment of $175m in the
     USD tranche and €154.5m in the euro tranche.

 

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
(file:///C%3A/Users/Eimear.NiChonghaile/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/1YRMU2QK/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 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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