LONDON, UK: Apax Global Alpha (AGA), the closed-ended investment company providing access to the Apax Private Equity Funds, today announced that it expects to invest approximately €36m in Zellis Group on a look-through basis.
On 15 April 2024, the Apax XI Fund (Apax XI), in which AGA is a limited partner, announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Zellis Group, a leading provider of payroll and HR software solutions to customers in the UK and Ireland and an emerging leader in the global benefits administration software market. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.
Operating in a structurally growing market, Zellis Group has strong core business fundamentals with a high degree of recurring revenue and customer retention. The Company’s Zellis and Moorepay businesses are market-leading HR and payroll technology partners to businesses across the UK and Ireland, with the company serving approximately one third of the FTSE 100 companies. Zellis Group is headquartered in Bristol, with operations in the UK, Ireland, India and the Philippines.
Apax has extensive experience partnering with businesses in the software space, including the HR software market from the Apax Funds’ prior investment in Paycor. Apax identified Zellis as an attractive opportunity to acquire a growing business with strong fundamentals.
The investment thesis is to back Zellis as it continues to scale and grow market share in the UK and Ireland as well as internationally. There is an opportunity to improve the Company’s already strong position in its core payroll offerings by driving growth in the mid- and upper-mid market segments and by acquiring additional HR modules to cross-sell into the customer base. There is also a meaningful opportunity to grow the benefits administration business.
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 June 2022, AGA made a commitment of c. $700m to Apax XI.
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