Apax to Sell Majority Stake in Advantage Sales & Marketing

Apax Partners, majority owner of Advantage Sales & Marketing (ASM), said on Monday it will sell its stake in the company to private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although a Reuters report valued the transaction at upwards of $4 billion. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2014.

ASM senior management will maintain significant equity interest in the company, which is expected to post $1.6 billion in revenue for the year.

"Apax Partners have added tremendous value to ASM over the past three-and-a-half years," said Tanya Domier, ASM CEO.  "This partnership has been a textbook example of how a private equity firm and a management team can create value together through collaborating on strategy, growth, and vision, and being willing to work hard to take a good company to great!  We set out with a clear vision, worked hard together, and focused on accelerating growth, and that is exactly what we accomplished."

Apax acquired its controlling stake in ASM in 2010.

Irvine, Calif.-based ASM provides customized services to the grocery, drugstore, club, convenience, natural/specialty, consumer electronics, home center, and foodservice industries.  The company employs more than 38,000 associates throughout the United States and Canada.