Funds advised by Apax Partners sell their stake in idealista
10th September 2020
Apax Funds advised by Apax Partners today announced that they have agreed to sell their stake in idealista, the leading online real estate platform in Spain, Italy aFunds advised by Apax Partners today announced that they have agreed to sell their stake in idealista, the leading online real estate platform in Spain, Italy and Portugal, to the EQT IX fund for a transaction value of €1.3 billion.
10 September, 2020: Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”) today announced that they have agreed to sell their stake in idealista, the leading online real estate platform in Spain, Italy and Portugal, to the EQT IX fund (“EQT IX”) for a transaction value of €1.3 billion.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, idealista supports approximately 40,000 real estate agents and 38 million unique monthly visitors across southern Europe by providing an online real estate classifieds marketplace for home buyers and sellers. The Company’s online platform and diversified portfolio of digital services, such as CRM tools, data analytics, and online mortgage brokerage, help enable efficient real estate transactions, making it a key destination for prospective homeowners and sellers.
Since 2015, the Apax Funds have supported idealista and its co-founders, Jesus Encinar, Fernando Encinar and Cesar Oteiza, through extensive investment in the company’s technology and operations, growing the business from c.300 employees to more than 750 today, and building it in to the region’s leading digital real-estate platform.
Over the course of the Apax Funds’ ownership, idealista has increased traffic by more than 4x, including a dramatic shift to mobile devices. This expansion has in turn driven a three-fold rise in revenues since 2015. Apax’s strong advisor network allowed it to further strengthen the Company’s board with the addition of Ed Williams, ex-CEO of Rightmove and Chairman of Autotrader, in 2016 and Marc Stilke, former CEO of ImmobilienScout24, in 2019.
The Apax Funds have a strong track record of investing in online marketplace businesses throughout Europe North America and Asia, and have invested over €3 billion of equity in 11 companies that operate some of the world’s leading online marketplaces for real estate, automotive and consumer financial products. Other digital marketplace investments by the Apax Funds include AutoTrader (UK), SouFun, TradeMe and Baltic Classifieds Group.
Tom Hall, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “It has been a huge privilege to work with Jesus, Fernando and Cesar and the rest of the idealista team over the past five years. They have remained relentlessly focused day after day on improving the liquidity, functionality, and ease of use of the idealista marketplaces for buyers, sellers, renters and landlords in each of Spain, Italy and Portugal. As a consequence of this, the business has grown dramatically in each of those countries and is now a clear market leader in Spain and Portugal, and a strong player in Italy. We wish Jesus and the team all the very best with EQT, who we believe will be excellent partners for them in the years ahead.”
Jesus Encinar, founder and CEO of idealista: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside the team at Apax Partners. Since 2015, their expert knowledge in online marketplaces and ability to realise the growth opportunity for idealista has propelled the company to its leading position today. Their experience and commitment to long-term management of the companies in which they invest has resulted in a fantastic and hugely successful partnership, and one for which I am truly grateful.”
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.
The Apax Funds were advised by Evercore Inc. (acting as exclusive financial adviser to Apax and idealista) and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (legal advisers).
About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see:www.apax.com.
About idealista SA
idealista supports approximately 40,000 real estate agents and 38 million unique monthly visitors across Southern Europe, by providing an online real estate classifieds marketplace for home buyers and sellers. More info:www.idealista.com/en
Apax Media Contacts
Global Media: James Madsen / Matthew Goodman, Greenbrook | +44 20 7295 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com
Notes to Editors
London-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.com), and Paris-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.fr) had a shared history but are separate, independent private equity firms.
