Q3 2015 Market Update

RNS Number : 4592E

Apax Global Alpha Limited

04 November 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"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4 November 2015

Apax Global Alpha Limited

Quarterly update for the period to 30 September 2015

For further information regarding AGA's Q3 2015 Managers update, including the details for today's analyst and investor call at 9.30am (GMT), please visit www.apaxglobalalpha.com.

Financial highlights

·          Adjusted Net asset value (excluding pro forma performance fees) as at 30 September 2015 is €875 million

·          Adjusted NAV per share of £1.32 (equivalent to €1.78 at 30 September 2015) up from £1.27 at 30 June 2015 (equivalent to €1.79 at 30 June 2015) despite challenging markets, and up from £1.29 (€1.66) at 31 December 2014

·          Since 31 December 2014, the invested portfolio of AGA has achieved a gross IRR of 21.8%, outperforming the benchmarks⁽¹⁾ by 28.8% in the same time period

·          As at 30 September 2015, AGA has a net cash position of €188 million⁽²⁾ and is on track to deploy funds raised from the IPO in both Private Equity and Derived Investments within 6 months

·          Limited FX impact in Q3 2015: main FX exposure is USD to EUR which was essentially flat (EUR/USD at 30 June 2015: 1.1142; at 30 September 2015: 1.1177)

Operational performance

Strong performance of AGA in Q3 is driven by strong operational performance across both Private Equity and Derived Investments portfolio companies:

Private Equity - Quarterly Operational Metrics	30 June 2015	30 September 2015
Portfolio year-over-year LTM Revenue Growth(3)	9.7%	9.9%
Portfolio year-over-year LTM EBITDA Growth(3)	8.2%	10.2%
Average EV/EBITDA Multiple(3)	11.6x	12.0x
Average Net Debt / EBITDA(3)	4.8x	4.5x
Number of new investments(4)	3	5
Number of exits(5)	-	2

Derived Investments - Quarterly Operational Metrics	30 June 2015	30 September 2015
YTM(6) of Debt investments	9.5%	10.7%
Average years to maturity for Debt investments (in years)	6.1	6.6
Average cash yield(7) of Debt investments	8.6%	9.0%
Year-over-year LTM EBITDA Growth Debt Investments (8)	11.3%	11.9%
Year-over-year LTM Earnings Growth Equity investments (9)	7.5%	10.5%
Average P/E multiple(10) of Equity investments	16.0x	13.8x
Number of new investments(11)	4	4
Number of exits(12)	5	1

Portfolio highlights

·          Invested portfolio remains well balanced: Private Equity 50% and Derived Investments 50% (Q2 2015: 46% and 54%, respectively)

·          Exposure to all Apax Partners' focus sectors has become more balanced: At the end of Q3 2015 Tech & Telco remains the sector with the strongest weight, accounting for 32% of the invested portfolio (Q2 2015: 37%) whilst Services has increased to 27% (Q2 2015: 23%)

·          Geographic bias towards North America went down from 59% in Q2 2015 to 54% in Q3 2015 as the exposure to Europe has increased as anticipated (30% in Q3 2015 vs 27% in Q2 2015)

Commenting on AGA's outlook, Ralf Gruss, COO at Apax Partners, said:

"We are very pleased with the continued strong operational performance of the portfolio companies in which AGA has invested, both through its Private Equity Investments and Derived Investments. The current market environment and increased volatility requires careful investment selection but also presents opportunities to purchase Derived Investments at attractive prices. In Private Equity, valuation levels have slightly reduced relative to 2014 and thus more deals have been executed recently.  AGA and its Investment Manager remain confident that they will invest or commit the net proceeds from the IPO within 6 months."

Contact details

Investor Relations
Lorraine Rees
Telephone:	[phone]
Email:	[e-mail]
Media enquiries (Apax Global Alpha Limited)
Alex Jones/Matthew Goodman, Greenbrook Communications
Telephone:	[phone]
Email:	[e-mail]
Media enquiries (Apax Partners LLP)
Alex Wessendorff
Telephone:	[phone]
Email:	[e-mail]
Company Secretary
Matt Horton/Jacques Colley, Aztec Group
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)        Comprises €173 million held in AGA and €15 million held in subsidiaries.

(3)        Represents the weighted average of the respective metrics across the underlying portfolio companies, using latest available information.

(4)        From 31 March 2015 to 30 June 2015 new investments included Azelis, Shriram City Union Finance and Schulz Catering. From 30 June 2015 to 30 September 2015 new investments included Quality Distribution, Wehkamp, Idealista, Ideal Protein and Zap Group.

(5)        From 31 March 2015 to 30 June 2015 no underlying portfolio companies were fully exited, whilst Sophos and Capio were partially exited through IPOs and Epicor completed a second refinancing of its capital structure and spun out its retail services division. From 30 June 2015 to 30 September 2015 iGate and SouFun were fully exited by way of trade sale and sale of shares on the public markets respectively.

(6)        Weighted average yield to maturity (YTM) of the Derived Debt Investments

(7)        Weighted average of current full year cash yield of each debt position in the debt portion of Derived Investments portfolio

(8)        Weighted average of latest available EBITDA growth, since prior quarter, of the underlying Derived Debt Investments

(9)        Weighted average of the latest earnings growth, since prior quarter, of the underlying Derived Equity Investments

(10)      Weighted by contribution to NAV.

(11)      In Q2:  Azelis Second Lien, Epicor Second Lien, Physiotheraphy Second Lien, Hinduja Global Solutions In Q3: Gruden Second Lien, Synlab Holdings, China Cinda Asset Management, Sinopharm Group.

(12)      In Q2:  Telecity, Zhaopin, KPIT Technologies, HDFC, AEVII Co-Invest GP Co.  In Q3: China Rundong Auto Group

About Apax Global Alpha Limited

AGA is a Guernsey closed-ended investment company that listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 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. time due to market conditions, investments 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 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 September 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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