New Zealand's Trade Me agrees to Apax acquisition

The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2019 pending foreign investment approval, implies an acquisition multiple of 16.7x EBITDA. It would see Apax pay NZ$6.45 per share for the company, matching the offer submitted by Hellman & Friedman.

Apax had initially offered NZ$6.40 per share under terms that included exclusive due diligence rights. However, Trade Me exercised provisions that allowed it to engage with Hellman & Friedman. In a statement, the company emphasized that it retained the right to consider competing bids under the current agreement, although a NZ$19.2 million break free fee would apply.

Trade Me shares jumped about 5% following the announcement and were trading at NZ$6.39 apiece as of late afternoon on December 12, their highest price to date. The stock was trading around NZ$6.00 before reaching NZ$6.23 on December 5 in response to Hellman & Friedman's expression of interest.

Founded in 1999, Trade Me operates a classified advertising, auction, and online retail platform that also offers services in online dating, employment, travel, and accommodation. The company has posted more than one billion listings to date. In 2016, it launched a courier booking service. Revenue for the 2017 financial year improved 6.6% to NZ$250.4 million, while profit rose 3.9% to NZ$96.6 million.

Apax is currently deploying its latest global fund, Apax IX, which closed at $9 billion in late 2016. It also has the Apax Digital Fund, which raised $1 billion last year. Recent activity in Asia Pacific includes the divestment of a 48% stake in GlobalLogic that valued the Indian IT outsourcing company at more than $2 billion.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• PIPEs
• Consumer
• New Zealand
• e-commerce
• TMT
• Apax Partners