UniCredit sells Apax fund stake to SwanCap

UniCredit has sold another private equity fund stake to its asset management spin-out SwanCap.

Earlier this month Unicredit divested its position in Apax Europe VII, according to UK regulatory notices.  Last year Unicredit sold its stakes in Carlyle Europe Partners II and PAI Europe funds III, IV, V and VI to SwanCap, according to filings.

A spokesperson from Unicredit did not return a request for comment by press time.

Apax Europe VII is a 2007-vintage fund that raised €11.2 billion, surpassing its €10 billion target, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division. It is Apax’s largest fund to date, according to the firm’s website. Limited partners include CalSTERS, fund of funds manager Capital Dynamics and Skandia Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Australian LPs – the Emergency Superannuation Scheme, the Transport Accident Commission and the Victorian Workcover Authority – were investors in the fund but sold their stakes in October. The fund stakes were sold to Ubar Investment Holdings, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Deleware-listed corporation PEC Lawson Holdings.

The New Mexico State Investment Council also sold its position in the fund in August, as part of a portfolio sale which also included interests in 3i Eurofund and Apax Europe VI. The portfolio was sold at a 2 percent premium to net asset value.

Apax Europe VII invests in medium- and large-sized pan-European buyouts in the financial services, healthcare, media, retail and technology and telecom industries.

In September the fund exited healthcare technology company TriZetto Corporation in a $2.7 billion cash deal, which generated a sale multiple of 2.8x, according to a source familiar with the matter. The firm acquired TriZetto for $1.4 billion in 2008 using Fund VII and its predecessor, Fund VI.

Currently Fund VII is generating a 1.4x net multiple.

Apax declined to comment.

SwanCap was spun out of Unicredit in a $3 billion deal last year. The spin-out was backed by The Carlyle Group’s AlpInvest Partners, which became a lead investor in SwanCap’s $1.2 billion debut fund, SwanCap Opportunities Fund SCS-SIF. Unicredit remained a passive shareholder in the new firm.

SwanCap acquired the Apax fund stake using its second fund, SwanCap Opportunities Fund II, according to UK regulatory filings. Fund II raised $85 million last month with help from Evercore Partners, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

SwanCap did not return a request for comment by press time.