GP Investments Buys Stake in Switzerland’s Apen

Bloomberg 21 May 2013
GP Investments Ltd., Latin America’s largest private-equity fund, agreed to pay $33 million for a 26.7 percent stake in Apen AG as it seeks to expand in emerging markets.
The deal makes GP the biggest shareholder in Zug, Switzerland-based Apen and gives it control of the firm’s management, the fund said today in an e-mailed statement. Newbury Partners LLC and Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) will invest $214 million as part of the transaction and each will receive a 13.4 percent stake, GP said.
“This is a very financially attractive deal with a discount of almost 50 percent in the net asset value,” GP co-Chief Executive Officer Antonio Bonchristiano said in a telephone interview.
GP, Newbury and Fortress will buy American International Group Inc. (AIG)’s stake and new shares, Bonchristiano said. The Swiss company, once known as AIG Private Equity, will invest in Asia, Latin America and possibly in Russia, Bonchristiano said.
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