Apax to exit Engineering Group

Apax Partners has agreed to sell its stake in Engineering Group to Bain Capital Private Equity and funds advised by NBRP. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Rome, Engineering Group is an IT services provider.

PRESS RELEASE

Rome — Feb. 5, 2020 — Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”) and NB Renaissance Partners (“NBRP”) today announced that they have agreed to sell their stake in Engineering Group, a leading IT services provider, to a consortium of Bain Capital Private Equity and different funds advised by NBRP.

Headquartered in Rome, Engineering is a leading IT services provider focused on digital transformation with more than 11,000 professionals in 65 locations across the world. The company designs, develops and manages innovative IT solutions for business areas where digitalisation is having the biggest impact.

In 2016 the Apax Funds alongside NBRP, the founder Michele Cinaglia and key senior managers acquired Engineering in a take private transaction which saw the business delist from the Milan Stock Exchange. Since then, Apax and NBRP have worked closely with the management team to deliver strong organic growth and execute an accretive M&A strategy. During the Apax Funds and NBRP’s four-year tenure, both revenue and EBITDA grew by +11% CAGR, reaching €1.3bn and €160m respectively, and the number of employees increased by c.3,000, reaching c.11,000. Over this period, the company completed 19 acquisitions both in Italy and abroad, acting as a consolidation platform in a fragmented market, with a track record of successful integration and expansion of its portfolio of proprietary solutions.

Gabriele Cipparrone, a Partner at Apax Partners, said: “Engineering has a leading position in the Italian IT Services market. Four years ago we saw the opportunity to leverage our significant expertise in IT Services to help Engineering accelerate growth. The company has delivered on its potential through a focus on organic and acquisitive growth. We would like to thank the CEO Paolo Pandozy and his team for the strong partnership and all they have achieved. We wish them all the best in the future.”

Paolo Pandozy, CEO of Engineering Group, said: “We would like to thank Apax Partners and NBRP for their insights and support over the years. Together, we have accelerated Engineering’s growth through investments in R&D and in innovation, as well as strategic acquisitions, which strengthened our leadership position in the Italian IT Services market.”

Michele Cinaglia, Founder of Engineering, said: “I am proud of what Engineering has achieved during the Apax Funds and NBRP’s ownership. I would like to thank them for their guidance and expertise over the last four years. We look forward to our continued success with NBRP and welcome Bain Capital Private Equity.”

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

The Apax Funds and NBRP’s selling funds were advised by Rothschild & Co (financial adviser), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and BonelliErede (legal advisers) and PwC (tax adviser).

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.

About Engineering Group
With around 11,000 professionals in 65 locations, the Engineering Group designs, develops and manages innovative solutions for the business areas where digitalization is having the biggest impact. Through its activities, the Group contributes to modernizing the world in which we live and work, combining specialist competences in next-generation technologies, technological infrastructures organized in a single hybrid multicloud and the capability to interpret new business models. With significant investments in R&D, Engineering plays a leading role in research, by coordinating national and international projects thanks to its team of 420 researchers and data scientists and a network of academic partners and universities throughout Europe. One of the group’s key strategic assets is its employees’ know-how, to whose training it has dedicated a multidisciplinary School which has provided more than 21,000 days of training during the last year. Learn more: www.eng.it.

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.