Apax To Sell Global Refund

Apax Partners has put Global Refund, a Swedish-based VAT refund service for tourists, up for sale with a price tag of approximately $557 million.

Hawkpoint was appointed for the sale earlier in the year, and a source close to the auction said that interest so far has come predominantly from mid-market private equity houses.

Cendant Corporation sold its Global Refund subsidiary, known at the time as Europe Tax Free Shopping, for approximately $160 million in August 1999. Since then, Apax is understood to have carried out a refinancing in 2004, terms for which are not known.