Apax Funds acquire majority shareholding in Psagot Investment house

13th December 2009

Funds advised by Apax Partners today announced an agreement to purchase a majority shareholding in Psagot Investment House Ltd ("Psagot"), the largest asset management business in Israel.

Tel Aviv, 13 December 2009 - Funds advised by Apax Partners today announced an agreement to purchase a majority shareholding in Psagot Investment House Ltd ("Psagot"), the largest asset management business in Israel with assets under management of over NIS 122bn (€21.7bn, $31.9bn), from shareholders led by York Capital Management. The investment is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Driven by a young population of almost 7.5m, a resilient economy and a high savings rate, the managed savings market in Israel is expected to grow strongly in the future, presenting attractive growth opportunities for Psagot. Psagot is a strong brand name in Israel with a 20 year track record. The company has significant scale versus its competitors, a diversified asset base and strong distribution relationships.

Apax Partners is the only global private equity firm to have a dedicated presence in Israel. Funds advised by Apax Partners have invested in Bezeq (the country's largest telecoms provider) and Tnuva (Israel's leading dairy and food producer).

Financial & Business Services is one of the five sectors in which Apax Partners focuses exclusively. The fund's most recent financial services investment is the acquisition of Bankrate Inc. Other key investments include Azimut, a leading Italian fund manager, Travelex, the world's largest non-bank provider of international payment services, and Hub International, a leading North American insurance brokerage.

Zehavit Cohen, a Partner and head of the Israeli office, commented: "This is a company that we have been tracking for some time, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to support a very strong management team in its next phase of growth."

Max Belingheri, a Partner at Apax, commented: "As the largest asset management business in Israel, Psagot allows us to access Israel's fast growing managed savings market. Apax Partners' considerable expertise in financial services and our unique understanding of the Israeli market means we are ideally positioned to assist Psagot."


For further information, please contact:
Ben Harding
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 6401
Email: ben.harding@apax.com


NOTES TO EDITORS

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 and management of Apax Partners globally total around $40 billion.  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 more information visit: www.apax.com.

About Psagot
Psagot is the largest investment house in Israel with managed assets of 122 billion NIS.  The investment house has long term and short term investment services.  For more information please visit: www.psagot.co.il.