Apax Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm which operates in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and Israel. The firm has raised approximately $20 billion (USD) and existed for over 30 years (being founded in 1972). Apax invests in a series of business sectors including: telecommunications, IT, retail and consumer goods, media, healthcare and financial/business services. At the moment Apax has a portfolio of around 340 companies in all stages of development. Image File history File links Apax_logo. ... Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. ... Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ...

Apax raises money through investors such as pension funds and university and college endowments. One of the firm's co-founders, Alan Patricof, was an initial investor in Apple Computers and America Online when both companies were just starting out. A pension (also known as superannuation) is a retirement plan intended to provide a person with a secure income for life. ... Endowment may refer to many things: Finance Financial endowment; relating to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals. ... Apple Computer, Inc. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Acquisitions

In Q2 2005 Apax Partners purchased a majority stake in Travelex (the worlds largest foreign exchange company) for £1.06bn. In Q3 2005 Apax also announced plans to purchase Grupo Panrico, one of Spain's largest food companies and its largest barkery company. Travelex plc is the worlds biggest foreign exchange company. ...

As part of the Velvet Acquisitions consortium (along with Barclays Capital and Robert Tchenguiz) Apax is involved in the purchase of Somerfield, the UK's fifth largest supermarket chain (with 1,300 stores). Somerfield is the 5th largest food retailer in the United Kingdom as of 2005, operating as Somerfield Stores Ltd. ...

At the end of 2005, it was announced that Apax Partners had purchased the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, all in cash. In May 2006, this deal was finally been been approved by the shareholders of Tommy. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tommy Hilfiger logo. ...

Apax Parnters has invested in several other public and privately-held realtors and clothing designers, such as Phillips-Van Heusen, Tommy Bahama, Spyder Active Sports, Dollar Tree Stores and the Children's Place. Tommy Bahama is a clothing manufacturer that designs and makes Hawaiian shirts and other tropical wear. ...

External links

• Apax Partners