LONDON--Apax Partners LLP agreed to sell its majority stake in
currency provider Travelex to the founder of foreign-exchange
dealer UAE Exchange, the second company in two days that the
London-based private-equity firm sold outright instead of floating
on a stock exchange.
The sale of Travelex to Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, a United Arab
Emirates-based entrepreneur, and his partners is the latest sign
that demand for initial public offerings is weakening after a
string of European stock-market floats for private equity-backed
companies underperformed. Apax and Dr. Shetty announced the deal in
press statements Friday but didn't disclose the price.
Apax's King Digital Entertainment PLC is down 27% since its IPO.
KKR & Co.'s Pets at Home is down 16% and Charterhouse's Card
Factory is down 11%.
Apax was considering share sales for Travelex and Tnuva, the
Israeli food company it agreed to sell to China's Bright Food on
Thursday, a person familiar with Apax's plans said. Private-equity
firms often sell companies in so-called dual-track processes,
talking to potential buyers and share investors to see who will
offer the best price. Firms have lined up dozens of companies for
IPOs to sell down some of the $2.4 trillion of assets they own
world-wide.
Now, the market may be turning against them. Thursday,
Bridgepoint scrapped IPO plans for U.K. clothing retailer Fat Face,
citing "current equity market conditions." Shares of Saga, which
sells holidays and insurance to the over-50s, floated in London
Friday at the bottom of the price range sought by its
private-equity owners Permira, CVC Capital and Charterhouse.
Some firms are pushing ahead with IPOs. Clayton, Dubilier &
Rice LLC's U.K. discount retailer B&M announced a share sale
Thursday. Zoopla, a U.K. property website whose backers include
venture-capital firms Atlas Venture and Octopus Ventures, also said
Thursday it would sell shares, as did low-cost airline Wizz Air
Holdings PLC, which is backed by private-equity firm Indigo
Partners LLC.
"The market is still very much open," Nick Williams, Credit
Suisse's European head of equity capital markets, said in an
interview. "In the first quarter there were moments when the market
perhaps got carried away in valuing the future too much by
sentiment. Investors still want to buy growth but they are being
more disciplined."
Write to Simon Clark at simon.clark@wsj.com
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