NEW YORK, NY - Apax Partners is selling its majority ownership stake in Advantage Sales & Marketing (ASM) to private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) and CVC Capital Partners for more than $4 billion, according to sources close to Reuters. Since purchasing controlling stake in 2010, Apax has helped ASM achieve substantial growth organically and through strategic acquisitions.
“Apax Partners have added tremendous value to ASM over the past three-and-a-half years,” said ASM CEO Tanya Domier. “This partnership has been a textbook example of how a private equity firm and a management team can create value together through collaborating on strategy, growth, and vision, and being willing to work hard to take a good company to great! We set out with a clear vision, worked hard together, and focused on accelerating growth, and that is exactly what we accomplished.”
The sale comes at a time when private equity firms are increasingly targeting companies that are expected to benefit from a recovery in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, according to Reuters.
ASM provides outsourced sales, marketing, and merchandising services to manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of consumer packaged goods in the U.S. The company serves groceries, drugstores, convenience stores, consumer electronics outlets, and sporting goods shops, according to Reuters. The company expects to achieve $1.6 billion in revenue in 2014.
“ASM is an exceptional company with an incredible track record, strong brand equity, and tremendous opportunities for growth,” said Jonathan Sokoloff, Managing Partner at LGP. “We are excited to partner with Tanya and the rest of ASM’s talented management team and look forward to supporting the next phase of the company’s growth.”
Christopher Stadler, Managing Partner at CVC, stated, “ASM has earned an exceptionally loyal and growing base of clients by continually finding new ways to help them win in the marketplace. We are delighted to have the rare opportunity to back a team that has accomplished so much, yet has many pathways to sustain significant future growth.”
Both LGC and CVC have worked together before to jointly acquire BJ’s Wholesale Club in 2011 for $2.8 billion.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2014.
