Apax Partners has set out to create one of the world’s biggest software providers to businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, services and retail industries.
The London-based private equity firm will buy Epicor Software and the privately held Activant Solutions in separate deals worth about $2 billion.
It will pay $976 million (£605 million) for Epicor, which makes applications for mid-cap companies. Activant provides management software to mid-market retail and wholesale distribution businesses. Apax did not disclose the terms of the Activant deal. The new company, to be called Epicor, will have more than 30,000 customers and $825 million in annual revenue.
Apax has lined up support for the deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2011, from a third of Epicor shareholders, including the activist investor Elliott Associates. Epicor shareholders will get $12.50 a share, a premium of 11 per cent to Epicor’s Friday closing of $11.24 on Nasdaq. Epicor shares were up 11 percent at $12.48 in morning trade on Nasdaq. (Reuters)