9 May 2019: Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Baltic Classifieds Group (“BCG”), a portfolio of leading online classified advertising platforms in the Baltics. The stake will be acquired from Media Investments & Holding OÜ, a Baltic-based media business. The transaction is expected to close by July 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
BCG operates Autoplius.lt, Aruodas.lt, Skelbiu.lt, CVBankas.lt, KV.ee, City24.ee, City24.lv, Osta.ee and Soov.ee, leading online classifieds platforms for automotive, real estate, jobs, and general merchandise. BCG’s portals are some of the most visited websites in their respective countries, generating more than 50m monthly visits in aggregate.
The Apax Funds have a long and successful track record investing in digital marketplace businesses. The investment in Baltic Classifieds Group will be the ninth in this space and the first in the Baltic region. Previous investments include Auto Trader in the UK, Idealista in Spain, SoYoung and SouFun in China and Trade Me in New Zealand.
Tom Hall, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “Over more than a decade, Justinas, the CEO, Simonas, the COO, and their long-standing team have built a collection of market-leading businesses with strong brands. The digital marketplaces they operate promote trust, fairness and efficiency. We are excited to introduce the BCG team to our wide network of classifieds businesses and executives around the world. We look forward to investing in BCG further, with the support of our Operational Excellence Practice, to enhance the great value these marketplaces provide for advertisers and consumers.
“We are also very pleased for the Apax Funds to invest in the Baltics for the first time. We are confident in the growth prospects of the region and have been very impressed with its business friendliness, pragmatism and entrepreneurial culture.”
Justinas Simkus, Chief Executive Officer of BCG, said: “We are proud to have developed a market-leading position. This is testament to our team and to the support we have had from our exiting shareholder. We look forward to benefitting from the considerable experience the Apax team has in digital marketplaces.”
About Baltic Classifieds Group
Baltic Classifieds Group is a portfolio of leading online classified advertising platforms in the Baltics, specialising in five key segments: automotive, real estate, jobs, generalist and ecommerce. The company operates in Lithuania, its largest market, through Diginet LTU. For more information see: www.diginet.lt
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 c.$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.
Media Contacts:
For Baltic Classifieds Group
Justinas Simkus | info@diginet.lt
For Apax Partners
Global Media: Andrew Kenny, Apax | +44 20 7 872 6371 | andrew.kenny@apax.com
USA Media: Todd Fogarty, Kekst | +1 212-521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekst.com
UK Media: Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 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.
