2015 Interim Highlights

RNS Number : 0824X

Apax Global Alpha Limited

26 August 2015

 

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.

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 Partners" or "the Investment Adviser"

 26 August 2015                                                                                                                                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Apax Global Alpha Limited

Unaudited Results for the period ended 30 June 2015

The financial statements cover the period from 2 March 2015 to 30 June 2015.  Where we discuss the trading period to 31 December 2014 this refers to the period as PCV Lux S.C.A ("PCV") and its subsidiaries (collectively the "PCV Group") prior to the acquisition by AGA. Irrespective of whether the text refers to AGA or PCV,   references to the trading period from 1 January or 1 April to 30 June include trading as PCV prior to the transfer of assets to AGA following the acquisition and listing on 15 June 2015.

For further information regarding the announcement of AGA's 2015 Interim Reports and Accounts, including the details for today's analyst and investor call at 9.30am (BST), please visit www.apaxglobalalpha.com/investor-information/calendar

Financial highlights for six months to 30 June 2015

·     Adjusted NAV, excluding performance fee reserves, increased by €65.0 million pro forma to €877.9 million due to investment performance, equivalent to a like-for-like increase of 8.0%

·     Adjusted NAV per share is €1.79 (equivalent to £1.27 at 30 June 2015), up from €1.66 pro forma after normalising for the IPO proceeds

·     In the six months to 30 June 2015, the invested portfolio of AGA has achieved a gross IRR of 35.6%, outperforming the benchmarks ⁽¹⁾ by 29.2% in the same time period

·     Share price of 125.38p as at 30 June 2015, + 5.2% since the IPO offer price of 119.20p

·     The IPO raised the maximum gross proceeds of €300 million ⁽²⁾ and was over-subscribed

·     Following the cash injection from the IPO, AGA is 65% invested (€572.8 million) as per 30 June 2015

Investment highlights for six months to 30 June 2015

·     Well balanced invested portfolio: Private Equity (46%) and Derived Investments (54%)

·     Exposure to all Apax Partners' focus sectors. As per 30 June 2015, Tech & Telco is the sector with the strongest weight, accounting for 37% of the invested portfolio

·     Geographic bias towards North America representing 59% of the invested portfolio as at 30 June 2015

·     The Investment Manager has highlighted the following in Private Equity portfolio

o  Apax Private Equity funds are exploiting strong exit markets and have returned €10.6 million to AGA over the last six months

o  Through its holding in AVIII and AMI, AGA is expected to indirectly invest €71.5m⁽³⁾ in five new Private Equity investments

·     The Investment Manager has highlighted the following in Derived Investments

o  Exited two debt investments and three listed equity investments, realising a total of €89.0 million

o  In H1 2015, AGA made six investments in debt and one in listed equities totalling €76.3 million in the period to 30 June 2015

Commenting on the results, Tim Breedon CBE, Chairman of Apax Global Alpha, said:

"I am delighted to present our first results since the company's successful move on to the public markets. AGA raised €300 million ⁽²⁾ from its listing on the London Stock Exchange in June and the offer was over-subscribed. This allows the company to pursue its strategy of investing in Apax private equity funds and targeting investments in other asset classes derived from those private equity activities. The Company is on track to deliver its target Total Shareholder Return and dividend yield once fully invested.

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the many new investors into AGA who have not previously had the opportunity to gain exposure to our unique investment approach, and to thank our original investors for their continued support."

Commenting on AGA's outlook, Nico Hansen, CIO of Apax Partners, said:

"We are actively identifying new opportunities to invest or commit the net proceeds from the IPO within the 6-12 months post-listing. While the general pricing environment remains elevated, the Apax Private Equity funds are finding good value opportunities, particularly in Europe. In North America and the Emerging Markets, they continue to be focused on under-appreciated niches. At the same time, AGA continues to see good flow in Derived Investments and we have identified a number of attractive investment opportunities where we can exploit market inefficiencies as they arise."

Financial highlights

	Private Equity	Derived Investments	Cash and Legacy Hedge Funds	Others	Total
	€ million	€ million	€ million	€ million	€ million
NAV        as at 31 December 2014	198.8	294.8	38.7	4.9	537.2
+ Net IPO Proceeds	-	-	275.0	-	275.0
+ Investments	33.5	76.3	(109.8)	-	0.0
- Divestments	(10.6)	(83.0)	105.6	-	12.0
+ Interest and dividend income	-	-	8.7	-	8.7
+/- Unrealised Gains	35.6	5.4	-	-	41.0
+/- FX Gains	6.5	15.5	-	-	22.0
+/- Costs and Others	-	-	5.1	(15.1)	(10.0)
NAV as of 30 June 2015	263.8	309.0	323.3	(10.2)	885.9
+/- Change in Performance Fee Reserve	(2.6)	(5.4)	-	-	(8.0)
Adjusted NAV as of 30 June 2015	261.2	303.6	323.3	(10.2)	877.9

Portfolio performance during 1H 2015

	Gross IRR %	Outperformance %	Benchmarks %
Private Equity	46.0	39.2	6.8
Derived Investments	27.7	21.5	6.2
-       Debt	24.3	19.0	5.2
-       Equities	35.2	26.8	8.4
Total	35.6	29.2	6.5

Invested portfolio analysis at 30 June 2015

Asset class (excluding hedge funds)	€m	€m	%	%
Private Equity	263.8		46
-       AEVI		7.7		1
-       AE VII		88.8		16
-       AE VIII		167.3		29
Derived Investments	309.0		54
-       Debt		237.5		41
-       Equities		71.5		13
Total	572.8	572.8	100.0

Sector mix	€m	Portfolio	Private Equity	Derived Investments %
		%	%
Tech & Telco	211.1	36.8	34.7	38.7
Services	132.7	23.2	32.6	15.1
Consumer	124.4	21.7	12.0	30.1
Healthcare	92.9	16.2	17.7	14.9
Other	11.7	2.1	3.0	1.2
Total	572.8	100.0	100.0	100.0

Geographic analysis	€m	Portfolio	Private Equity	Derived Investments %
		%	%
North America	338.4	59.1	55.1	62.5
UK	62.2	10.9	10.8	11
Switzerland	13.4	2.3	0.1	4.2
Rest of Europe	76.5	13.4	21.6	6.4
India	52.3	9.1	6.1	11.7
China	17.5	3.0	1.6	4.2
RoW	12.5	2.2	4.7	0.0
Total	572.8	100.0	100.0	100.0

Summary of top 10 investments in Private Equity and Derived Investments

	Valuation €m	% of NAV	% of invested portfolio
Top 10 Private Equity
One Call/ Align	29.3	3%	5%
Garda	22.8	3%	4%
GlobalLogic	20.9	2%	4%
EVRY	19.3	2%	3%
Exact Software	17.5	2%	3%
Acelity (Kinetic Concepts)	13.0	1%	2%
Answers Corporation	12.7	1%	2%
Cole Haan	12.3	1%	2%
Auto Trader Group	10.4	1%	2%
Shriram City Union	10.2	1%	2%
Other	95.4	11%	17%
Total private equity	263.8	30%	46%
Top 10 Derived Investments
Exact Software	25.2	3%	4%
Answers Corporation	22.7	3%	4%
Epicor	21.7	2%	4%
Compuware	20.8	2%	4%
Genex	20.4	2%	4%
Rentpath	18.5	2%	3%
Advantage Sales & Marketing	18.0	2%	3%
Paradigm	17.9	2%	3%
Greene King	15.9	2%	3%
Unilabs	13.1	1%	2%
Other	114.8	13%	20%
Total derived investments	309.0	35%	54%
Total investments	572.8	65%	100%
Cash	320.7(4)	36%	0%
Legacy hedge funds	2.6	0%	0%
Net current assets	(10.2)	(1%)	0%
Total NAV	885.9	100%	0%

Contact details

Investor Relations

Lorraine Rees

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]                                                                          

Media enquiries (Apax Global Alpha Ltd)

Alex Jones, Greenbrook Communications

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Media enquiries (Apax Partners LLP)

Alex Wessendorff

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Notes

1. 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.

2. 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.

Footnotes

1. References to benchmarks refer to MSCI Net Total Return World Index for Private Equity and Equities, and BAML US HY Master II Index for debt.

2. Total proceeds of €300m were raised based on the FX rate at the date of allocation prior to IPO. A total of €301.4m was raised when the proceeds were recalculated to euro based on the exchange rate at close of business on the date of listing the 15 June 2015.

3. Excludes a €10.5m acquisition by AGA of a carried interest stake in AE VII. Of the expected €71.5m, €23.0m has been funded as of 30 June 2015, with the remaining €48.5m relating to transactions of the Apax Private Equity Funds that were funded via capital call facilities, pending capital calls from investors.

4. Comprises €278.8m held in AGA and €41.9m held in subsidiaries.

About Apax Global Alpha Ltd

AGA is a Guernsey closed-ended investment company that listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15^th June 2015.

AGA's objective is to provide shareholders with capital appreciation from its investment portfolio and regular dividends. The Company is targeting an annualised Total Shareholder Return (TSR), across economic cycles, of 12-15% (net of fees and expenses) including a dividend yield of 5% of Net Asset Value (NAV), once fully invested.

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, cashflow requirements, the dividend policy and other factors.

About Apax Partners LLP

Apax Partners LLP ("Apax Partners") is a leading global private equity advisory firm. It operates globally and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Apax Partners has advised funds that total over €34 billion in aggregate as at 30 June 2015. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long‐term equity financing to build and strengthen world‐class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com.

Apax Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

 

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