Apax set for Zap TASE floatation next month

Zehavit Cohen  photo: Rami Zarnegar
Zehavit Cohen photo: Rami Zarnegar

Apax is trying to sell shares in the Internet company at a NIS 650-700 million company value after buying them at a company value of NIS 145 million.

Investment fund Apax Partners, led by managing partner and office head Zehavit Cohen, is moving ahead with an IPO for consumer information and price comparison company Zap (formerly Golden Pages) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Zap today published an initial draft prospectus and presentation with the main figures about the company simultaneously with a roadshow that the company's management will now begin with investment institutions. The offering, led by Leumi Partners, is scheduled to get underway in early August.

As far as is known, the offering is being planned on an offer for sale format. Apax is seeking a company value of NIS 650-700 million for Zap in the offering, in which it will attempt to sell its shares for a total of NIS 200 million, constituting 30% of Zap's share capital. Apax acquired Zap in 2015 for "only" NIS 145 million. Apax holds Zap through Zebra Holdco, in which Moti Ben-Moshe has a 10% stake.

Given the challenging state of the market, which has led to the cancelation of quite a few smaller IPOs in recent months and major price cuts for the offerings that did taken place, it is very likely that the company value being sought will be lowered by the IPO date.

The Zap group is active in advertising and providing of management tools for small and medium-sized businesses. According to figures from the company, 400,00 businesses are registered on the group's websites and it has 23,000 paying customers and 16 million hits a month.

Zap currently has 23 websites. Among the most prominent are Zap Price Comparison, the Rest restaurants website, Mitchatnim (a matchmaking website), the Zap Doctors medical website, Zap Deliveries, and other content areas, including law, design, hobbies, and so forth.

Zap was founded in 1968 as part of the Aurec group under the name Golden Pages. Since its founding, it has engaged in advertising and marketing businesses through printed guides. Starting in 2005, it expanded its advertising and marketing activity to business by operating websites.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 17, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Zehavit Cohen  photo: Rami Zarnegar
Zehavit Cohen photo: Rami Zarnegar
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