UK private equity giant Apax Partners is the recipient of EVCJ’s Fund Raising of the Year for Buyouts award for Apax Europe VII, which closed on €11.2bn, making it the largest private equity fund in European history.
The fact that it closed in May, a time when the LBO market was already looking shaky, shows the strength of the Apax brand. The latest vehicle is almost three times as large as its predecessor, Europe VI, which raised €4.3bn in May 2005. The amount raised placed Apax firmly in the elite group of private equity players, surpassing previous European record holder Permira, which raised €11bn in 2006.
The fund raising also represents a victory for Martin Halusa, the firm’s CEO, who implemented a strategy focused purely on buyouts, a move away from the more balanced approach under previous head, Sir Ronald Cohen. This was a significant change for the company, which historically has invested across the board, from early stage venture capital to the mid-market, as well as the larger end of the buyout market with which it is now more often associated.
A clear strategy made it easy to understand what Apax 2008 was about: specialisation in five sectors, targeting companies with enterprise values of between €1bn and €5bn, with an emphasis on being the lead investor in largely proprietary situations.
It may be difficult to remember now, but there was a time when it was doubtful whether Apax would be able to make the step-up and become of the world’s leading players, joining that elite group of largely US LBO houses. In order to do this, the firm set out its strategy and stuck to it, and has been rewarded with a fund so big it has propelled it into the upper echelons of the industry.
With the buyouts world clearly in a period of transition, it will be over the next year that a truly global group of private equity firms emerge as they spread from their bases in Europe or the US into Asia and beyond. By raising €11.2bn, Apax has staked a claim to belong to that group.
BOX]
Shortlist
Advent International GPE VI
Apax Europe VII
Bowmark Capital Partners IV
FSN Capital III
Lyceum Capital Fund II
