LO)NDON: The Apax X Fund, in which Apax Global Alpha Limited (AGA) is a limited partner, has announced the sale of its minority stake in idealista, a leading online real estate classifieds platform in Southern Europe, to Cinven.
Including prior distributions, this transaction will deliver a total gross MOIC of 2.1×1 and a gross IRR of 24%1 for Apax X. The transaction values AGA’s look-through investment in idealista at approximately €14.8m. This represents an uplift of c.9.6% to the last Unaffected Valuation and an uplift of c.€1.3m in the Adjusted Net Asset Value (“Adjusted NAV”) of AGA at 31 March 2024. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024, subject to regulatory approval.
Note that these figures relate to AGA’s look-through position of Apax X’s overall investment in idealista and are stated before taking into account any closing adjustments, fees, costs, and carried interest, and are translated based on the latest exchange rates available where applicable.
Apax X invested in idealista for a minority stake in February 2021 following Apax VIII’s sale of the company to EQT. The transaction coincided with the merger of idealista’s Italian business with Casa.it, presenting Apax X with the opportunity to invest in a business Apax knew well and to support the co-founders to further scale the business internationally.
This follows significant value creation under the ownership of Apax VIII which first invested in idealista in 2015. Over the course of the Apax Funds’ 9-year ownership, idealista has grown revenues by more than 7x and headcount by more than 4x.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madrid, idealista provides an online real estate classifieds marketplace for homebuyers and sellers. Its online platform and diversified portfolio of digital services, including CRM tools, data analytics, and online mortgage brokerage, help enable efficient real estate transactions. Today, idealista connects around 60 thousand real estate agents with over 38 million unique monthly visitors generating over one billion visits annually across southern Europe.
The Apax Funds have a strong track record of investing in online marketplace businesses throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, and have invested over $4.8bn of equity in 14 companies that operate some of the world’s leading online marketplaces for real estate, automotive, boats, jobs and consumer financial products.
AGA, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors with access to the Apax Private Equity Funds and a smaller portfolio of mostly debt investments. In 2019, AGA made a commitment of c.$450m4 to Apax X.