Apax Partners Seals Majority of Vocalcom

Apax Partners has acquired a 65% stake in Vocalcom, a provider of software for customer contact and call centers. The deal included share purchases and a capital increase, the firm said in a written statement. Specific terms of the deal were not released.

PRESS RELEASE:
Apax Partners and Vocalcom have finalised an agreement under which the Apax Funds have acquired a 65% majority stake in Vocalcom, alongside the founding manager, who is to retain a 35% interest. The transaction, fully financed in equity, was made through share purchases and a capital increase.

Vocalcom is a software and technology solutions provider for customer contact and call centres. It has developed a global offering that allows companies to manage their customer contact centres, improve their contact centres customer service quality (through the integration of a range of communication channels including telephones, email, SMS, WebChat and mobile terminals), and optimise the productivity of customer service teams (e.g. planned telemarketing campaigns).

Founded in 1995 in Paris by Anthony Dinis, a visionary entrepreneur, Vocalcom has become an international company that in 2010 generated nearly €40 million in revenue, two thirds of which outside France, particularly in fast-growing emerging markets such as Brazil and North Africa.

With the support of its new shareholder, Vocalcom aims to become an internationally recognised leader in the fields of multichannel contact centre management and customer relations.

To achieve this, the company intends to accelerate the deployment of its sales and marketing organisation, to increase its international presence through organic growth and acquisitions, and to pursue its investment in R&D in order to continue offering solutions that are at the forefront of technological and functional innovation.

Anthony Dinis, Vocalcom Founding President, said: “I am very happy to forge this partnership. Apax Partners will help us become a world leader through its expertise in assisting software companies worldwide and the contributed capital to accelerate our company’s development.”

Gilles Rigal, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Vocalcom and its founder in order to provide them our expertise and help accelerate their growth. This French company has established significant positions in international markets. It can now capitalise on the quality of its teams and its innovation capacity to become a leading player in call centre solutions worldwide. In line with our strategy, we are investing in a company with strong growth potential in one of our six sectors of specialisation, with a view to making it a leader in its sector.”

About Vocalcom
Vocalcom is a solutions provider dedicated in optimizing customer relationship management for customer service across multiple channels. Solutions integrate telephony, SMS, email, video calls, web contact, social networks, point of sales and mobile connected devices. Vocalcom’s virtualized solution can be operated in a cloud environment integrated to all IP platforms available today.

Vocalcom’s unique and innovative solutions have brought major shifts in customer service, web customer management, social media relationship management and points of sales.

Founded in 1995 by Anthony Dinis, the French group is considered a global leader among Contact Center Solutions Providers. Half a million users in over 3 500 contact centers use these solutions daily.

Vocalcom’s global brand is recognized and active in 43 countries. Their solutions obtained the Eureka European label and were granted the Product of the Year Award by TMC Corporation in the United States for eight consecutive years.

Additional information is available on: www.vocalcom.com

About Altamir Amboise
Altamir Amboise is a listed private equity company, targeting NAV per share growth.
Until the end of 2010, Altamir Amboise co-invested with the funds managed by Apax Partners, a leading private equity firm with over 30 years of investing experience. Since 1 January 2011, Altamir Amboise invests directly in funds managed by Apax Partners, in particular the Apax France VIII fund.

Altamir Amboise offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies, across Apax’s sectors of specialisation: Technology, Telecoms, Retail & Consumer, Media, Healthcare, and Business & Financial Services.

Altamir Amboise is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris, Compartment B, ticker: LTA, ISIN code: FR0000053837. It is listed in the CAC Small (ex CAD Small 90) and CAC All-Tradable (ex SBF 250) indices. The total number of Altamir Amboise ordinary shares in circulation at 31 March 2011 was 36,512,301.