Paris, 17 February 2023 - The private equity market slowed significantly in 2022, buffeted by a sharp correction in equity markets, high inflation and rising interest rates. Multiples have declined after reaching very high levels (in particular in the Tech sector), and fund managers are waiting for valuations to return to more reasonable levels so they can seize investment opportunities.
In this context, Altamir's activity held up well, after reaching a record high in 2021. By subscribing to the Altaroc Global funds, Altamir gained access, as anticipated in its diversification strategy, to two co-investment opportunities alongside a new fund manager and European leader specialised in the software sector: Hg Capital.
After consultation with the Supervisory Board, Altamir Gérance set out its allocation strategy for the 2023-26 period. Specifically, it decided to invest €1 billion over the period, including €500 million in the European Union, €300 million outside the EU and €200 million as co-investments. In this regard, Altamir Gérance has already allocated €254m to the Apax XI LP fund, which is currently being raised.
1. €184.5m invested and committed during the year (vs €368.8m in 2021), including €129.4m in 9 new companies
€129.4m invested in 9 new companies, including 2 as co-investments alongside fund manager Hg Capital, with which Altamir has also invested via Altaroc Global 2022.
Via the Apax MidMarket X fund:
- Opteven, a European leader in vehicle services and insurance solutions covering mechanical breakdowns, roadside assistance and maintenance, present in five European markets: France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy (€41.7m invested);
- Vitaprotech, the French leader in premium solutions for securing sensitive sites. The company offers an integrated set of services built around complementary areas of expertise: access control, perimeter intrusion detection, intelligent monitoring and smart video (€28.7m invested);
Via Apax X LP:
- Authority Brands, a leader in home service franchising in the United States, with a dozen brands ranging from senior care to pool maintenance to outdoor pest control (€12.4m invested);
- EcoOnline, a European leader in SaaS-based EHS solutions (Environment, Health and Safety). EcoOnline solutions enable companies to enhance the security and sustainability of their sites and to comply with the most restrictive environmental standards (€8.1m invested);
- Alcumus, a US-based technology solutions provider that manages risks and compliance within organisations (€6.8m invested);
- Pickles Auctions, Australia's leading marketplace for used vehicles, salvage, industrial, agricultural, and general goods (€4.6m invested);
- Ole Smoky, a leading distiller of premium whiskeys in the United States (€4.6m invested).
As co-investments alongside Hg Capital:
- IFS, a leading global provider of ERP software that offers industrial companies a palette of complete solutions on a single, SaaS-based technology platform (€12.1m invested);
- Access, a company specialised in software for the healthcare, recruiting, hotel management, foodservice, education and legal services industries. Present in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Asia-Pacific region, Access supports more than 75,000 clients (€10.3m co-invested).
These 9 new investments operate principally in software and technology solutions (Vitaprotech, IFS, Access and EcoOnline) and in digital marketplaces (Pickles Auctions). 5 are European, 3 are US-based and 1 is in Australia.
In addition, the initial estimates on the new investments in Odin and T-Mobile were adjusted downwards by €5.4m.
€20.3m was invested via funds:
- €14.0m in Altaroc Global 2021,
- €4.1m via Apax Development (fully invested as of 31 December 2022),
- €2.2m via Apax Digital (fully invested as of 31 December 2022) and Apax Digital II (10% invested as of 31 December 2022).
€40.3m was invested in follow-ons in various portfolio companies (including €10.5m held as co-investments), mainly:
- €11.1m in Snacks Développement to finance the acquisition of Burts Snacks, a UK company;
- €5.4m in Dstny to finance build-ups;
- €5.2m to repurchase a secondary position as an additional co-investment in Marlink;
- €3.9m in Mentaal Beter to finance the transformative acquisition of HSK;
- €3.1m in PIB Group to finance build-ups;
- €2.6m in Odigo to support accelerated migration towards a SaaS-based business model;
- €2.2m in Crystal to finance build-ups;
- €1.5m in Genius Group to finance acquisitions;
- €1.0m in AEB to strengthen the financial condition of the company.
2. €123.9m in divestment proceeds were received during the year (vs €636.0m in 2021), including €36.1m related to 5 full divestments
In the fourth quarter, Apax Partners announced the sale of Kepro to CNSI (sale proceeds: €8.0m). This divestment came in addition to the 4 full divestments announced at end-September:
- Authority Brands, which was held via the Apax IX LP fund (sale proceeds of €19.9m);
- Boasso Global (ex-Quality Distribution), which was held via the Apax VIII LP fund (sale proceeds of €4.3m);
- Attenti, which was held via the Apax IX LP fund (sale proceeds of €3.9m);
- Huarong, which was also held via the Apax VIII LP fund (sold for nil).
During the year, Altamir also received proceeds from partial divestments totalling €82.3m, including:
- €57.6m deriving from dividends and partial divestments, principally THOM Group (capital reduction of €40.6m), MyCase (partial sale of €9.1m) and Fractal (partial sale of €4.3m); Paycor (sale of shares of €1.9m) and Alcumus (partial sale of €1.6m);
- €23.7m deriving from refinancing operations, principally on InfoGain (€6.3m), Inmarsat (€4.0m), ThoughtWorks (€2.6m), Rodenstock (€2.2m), Coalfire (€2.1m), Nulo (€1.8m), Idealista (€1.8m), Baltic Classifieds Group (€1.5m), and Eating Recovery Center (€1.4m);
- €1m in sundry revenue;
Lastly, an adjustment of €5.5m was recognised to reflect the definitive amounts received from the sale of Unilabs and Marlink.
3. Portfolio as of 31 December 2022
As of 31 December 2022, Altamir's portfolio included 69 companies, with the following breakdown:
- 28 in Tech & Telco (1 company sold and 5 acquired in 2022)
- 20 in Services (2 companies sold and 2 acquired in 2022)
- 14 in the Consumer sector (2 companies acquired in 2022),
- 7 in Healthcare (2 companies sold and 1 acquired in 2020).
Forthcoming events:
| NAV as of 31/12/2022 | 8 March 2023, pre-trading |
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About Altamir
Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with a NAV of ca. €1.3bn. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.
Altamir's investment policy is to invest via and with the funds managed or advised by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives.
In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax's sectors of specialisation (Tech & Telco, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in continental Europe and large companies in Europe, North America and key emerging markets).
Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as a SCR ("Société de Capital Risque"). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company's investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions.
For more information: www.altamir.fr
Contact
Claire Peyssard Moses
Tel.: +33 6 34 32 38 97 /E-mail: investors@altamir.fr
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