Apax-led Consortium Agrees to Acquire Paradigm Ltd.
11 June 2012
London and Amsterdam
Funds advised by Apax Partners ('Apax') and JMI Equity have
today announced an agreement to acquire Paradigm Ltd. ('Paradigm'),
the largest independent software vendor focused on the growing oil
and gas exploration & production (E&P) space, for
approximately $1 billion in an all-cash transaction. Paradigm is a
multi-national company with a significant presence across Europe,
the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, China and Australasia.
Paradigm's mission critical software enables engineers to
optimise drilling and production decisions through the analysis of
vast quantities of seismic and well-log data, spanning the entire
spectrum of the E&P lifecycle from basin evaluation through to
development & production. Paradigm has over 700
customers, which include super-major oil companies; national oil
companies; independent exploration and production companies; and
seismic processing service firms. Paradigm's software
solutions are considered best-of-breed in a market that has been
growing strongly in recent years. The company will continue
to invest heavily in R&D given the complexity and substantial
processing power required to run these applications.
Eldad Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Paradigm, said: "It is
exciting for Paradigm to team up with Apax and JMI. With
their backing, Paradigm is ready to further accelerate its top line
and market share growth and capitalise on the opportunities its
market position and leading technologies present."
Ian Jones, a senior Partner in London and head of an Energy
working group at Apax, commented: "Paradigm has invested
considerable time and money in developing market-leading
intellectual property, and employs many of the leading scientists
and software engineers in the sector. As such, it is
well-placed to benefit from strong tailwinds in the coming years as
energy companies look to drill in more challenging locations. The
software it provides is the best in the market, leading to strong,
established relationships with its customers and underpinning an
attractive business model."
Jason Wright, a Partner in the Tech & Telecom team at Apax
in New York, continued: "Paradigm is known as a technologically
innovative software company. Our intention is to continue
this innovation and gain market share in a growing market. We
believe that the intersection between Energy and Software is an
exciting area for investment and is an opportunity we have been
monitoring for some time."
Apax has extensive experience in the software and IT space
through previous investments including Epicor Software
Corporation/Activant Solutions, Sophos, The TriZetto Group,
RealPage, IntraLinks, Princeton Softech, Planview and
Autonomy. The firm has also invested previously in other
technology companies whose growth is driven by the Energy sector,
including Hansen Transmissions and Q-Cells. In total, Apax
Funds have invested over $1.7 billion of equity in the enterprise
software sector.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Simmons & Co. acted as
financial advisers to Apax and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided
legal advice. UBS and Royal Bank of Canada provided debt financing.
Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as adviser to Paradigm and
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provided legal and PwC
financial advisory services.

About Apax Partners
Apax
Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment
groups. It operates across the United States, Europe and Asia
and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Funds
under the advice of Apax Partners total over $37 billion around the
world. These Funds provide long-term equity financing to
build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax Partners
Funds invest in companies across its global sectors of Tech &
Telecom, Retail & Consumer, Media, Healthcare and Financial
& Business Services.
For further
information about Apax, please visit: www.apax.com
About JMI Equity
JMI Equity is a leading growth equity firm focused on investing
in growing software, internet, business services and healthcare IT
companies. Founded in 1992, JMI has invested in more than 100
businesses in its target markets and has over $2.1 billion of
committed capital under management. JMI provides capital for
growth, recapitalisations, acquisitions and buyouts. Representative
investments include DoubleClick, Eloqua, Navicure, Nimsoft,
ServiceNow and Seismic Micro-Technology (SMT).
For more information on JMI Equity, visit www.jmiequity.com
About Paradigm™
Paradigm (www.pdgm.com) is an upstream
oil & gas leader in digital subsurface asset management and
software innovation. It's analytical and information
management solutions extend across the most critical exploration
and production disciplines from seismic processing and imaging,
interpretation, modeling to reservoir characterisation, and well
planning and drilling. Serving the oil & gas and mining
industries since 1987, Paradigm operates globally through 30
customer service and technology facilities located in 25
countries.
Contacts:
Ben Harding
/ Georgiana Brunner
Apax Partners
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 6401 / 6429
Email: communications@apax.com
US enquiries:
Kekst and
Company
Todd Fogarty
Tel: +1 212 521 4854
Email: todd-fogarty@kekst.com
European enquiries:
FTI
Consulting
Charlie Palmer or Fergus Wheeler
Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113
Email: charles.palmer@fticonsulting.com
Email: fergus.wheeler@fticonsulting.com
JMI Equity:
The
Abernathy MacGregor Group
Chuck Dohrenwend or Allyson Vento
Tel: +1 212 371 5999
Email: COD@abmac.com/
AMV@abmac.com
Paradigm Ltd.
Fox Paine
& Company
Saul Fox
Tel: +1 650 235 2030
Email: fox@foxpaine.com