OREANDA-NEWS. September 06, 2016. Net Asset Value per share stood at €18.77 as of 30 June 2016 after distribution of a dividend of €0.56 per share in May 2016. Including the dividend, Net Asset Value increased by 7.3% from 31 March 2016 (€18.01) and by 3.9% from 31 December 2015 (€18.60).

The increase owed primarily to the portfolio companies' strong operating performances. These were offset, however, by a decline in the valuation multiples of listed and unlisted shares following Brexit and the drop in equity markets:

·      average EBITDA growth over the first half of the year was 12.9% in the Apax Partners France portfolio and 6% for the companies held via the Apax VIII LP fund;

·      the weighted average valuation multiple decreased from 10.66x at end-2015 to 10.10x at end-June 2016 on the Apax Partners France portfolio. It decreased from 11.9x to 11.6x at the companies held via the Apax VIII LP fund.

Net Asset Value (IFRS shareholders' equity) as of 30 June 2016 was €685.2m, vs. €657.5m as of 31 March 2016 and €679.3m as of 31 December 2015.

€147.2m in divestment proceeds and revenue

First-half 2016 divestment proceeds and revenue amounted to €147.2m, compared with €24.1m in H1 2015, and were composed primarily of:

·      €93.5m from the sale of Altamir's investment in Infopro Digital, representing a multiple of almost three times the amount originally invested;

·      €21.4m from the sale of the remaining shares in Capio, generating an overall multiple of 1.6 times the total amount invested;

·      €8.5m in proceeds and revenue received on preference shares in Maisons du Monde, a former portfolio company, on the occasion of its recent IPO.

·      €19m in divestment proceeds as part of the transaction enabling Mannai Corporation to acquire 51% of Gfi Informatique's capital from its current shareholders and the market.

An additional €15.4m was received in July 2016. As a result of this transaction, Altamir received a total of €35m, i.e. €5m more than announced at end-2015, and now holds an indirect stake of 7.5% in Gfi Informatique;

·      €2.6m corresponding to the partial sale of GardaWorld, bringing the multiple to 1.5 times the amount invested in 2012;

·      €1.9m from the sale of Rhiag, representing a multiple of 3.2 times the amount originally invested;

·      €0.1m corresponding to Albioma's 2016 dividends distributed in cash and shares.

As previously reported, the transactions relating to the sale of Gfi Informatique and Rhiag, totalling €30m and €2m respectively, were announced in 2015 and full payment had been received as of the end of July 2016.

€78m in investments and commitments - five new companies

In the first half of 2016, Altamir invested and committed €78m (vs. €54.4m in H1 2015) including €65.9m in five new companies and €12.1m to support existing portfolio companies (essentially Groupe INSEEC).

New commitments via and alongside the Apax France IX (B) fund totalled €58.8m and broke down as follows:

·      €33.6m4, including €23.6m via the fund and €10m via co-investment, in InfoVista, worldwide provider of network performance software solutions;

·      €25.2m4 in Sandaya, a French outdoor accommodation group with four- and five-star campsites in France and Spain;

Altamir carried out/committed to three new investments totalling €7.1m via the Apax VIII LP fund:

·      €2.6m in Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA, an Italian IT services company.

·      Ca. €2.5m to acquire 50.1% of the respiratory solutions business of US company Becton Dickinson, with which it will form a joint venture that will operate independently;

·      Ca. €2.1m so as to create a 60%-held joint-venture in Duck Creek Technologies, an Accenture subsidiary, specialising in innovative software solutions for the insurance industry.

As previously reported, the acquisitions of Marlink, Melita and Cabovis?o/ONI, which represented commitments of €104.2m as of 31 December 2015, were finalised in the first half of 2016 for a total of €102.6m.

The investments indicated above included two co-investments totalling €28m (€18m in Marlink and €10m in InfoVista). Together with Snacks D?veloppement, this brings the total number of co-investments made since 2011 to three, for a total amount invested of €36.5m.

In light of the significant first-half increase in amounts co-invested, the Management Company will propose an amendment to the Articles of Association at the next Shareholders' Meeting so as to introduce an IRR hurdle rate for the payment of carried interest, if any, on these co-investments.

Lastly, Altamir committed €138m to the Apax IX LP, which closed its books for the first time in June 2016. The Apax IX LP fund has already announced its first investment (see "Events since 30 June 2016").

39 portfolio companies

As of 30 June 2016, Altamir's portfolio was valued (IFRS basis) at €747.5m, vs. €699.8m as of 31 March 2016 and €686.5m as of the 31 December 2015. It was made up (excluding commitments) of 39 companies (vs. 36 at end-2015), including 31 unlisted (71.1% of portfolio value) and eight listed (Albioma, Altran, Amplitude, Gfi, Chola, Huarong, Shriram and Zensar).

Since Apax VIII LP acquired Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA by delisting it, it is not considered a listed company.

The joint ventures with Becton Dickinson and Accenture represent commitments as of 30 June 2016 and are therefore not included among these 39 companies.

Portfolio companies pursued their organic growth and acquisition strategies during the first half of 2016. Average EBITDA growth for the year was 12.9% in the Apax Partners France portfolio and 6% at the companies held via the Apax VIII LP fund.