Apax Partners: the 50-year-old sector specialist that put $3.5B to work in India

Apax Partners is a London-headquartered private-equity advisory firm with more than 50 years of history, tracing its roots to 1969. Its pitch is sector specialism: collaborating with management teams of high-potential companies in technology, services and internet/consumer, supplying operating skills and specialist sector experience. Its stated overriding goal: "inspiring mutual success through mutual vision." The firm is run by co-CEOs Andrew Sillitoe and Mitch Truwit.

Apax operates across the capital structure. Its core vehicle is Apax Global Buyout — the 11th fund, Apax XI, closed in March 2024 at more than $12B. Alongside it sit Apax Digital Growth (around $1.95B, focused on growth and minority technology investments with exceptional entrepreneurs), Apax Global Impact (around $900M, targeting health and wellness, climate, social mobility and digital impact enablers), Apax Mid-Market Israel and Apax Credit. It also runs the listed vehicle Apax Global Alpha on the London Stock Exchange. In aggregate, apax.com reports roughly $80B in funds raised.

India has been a serious, long-running commitment. Apax has a Mumbai office — one of eight worldwide, alongside London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Munich, Tel Aviv and San Francisco — and invested close to $3.5B in India between 2004 and 2024, allocating 7–10% of its global fund to the country. It has said it plans to ramp up activity in domestic pharma, consumer and consumer derivatives.

The India portfolio is deep. Recent highlights include Fractal (a $200M investment in 2022), Azentio Software (acquiring 3i Infotech's software products business for $136M in 2021), Healthium Medtech (acquired for around $300M in 2018, with a 99.8% stake sold to KKR in 2025), IBS Software (a minority stake of around $450M in May 2023), Zensar (a 23.2% stake for $129M in 2015), Infogain, GlobalLogic, Apollo Hospitals and Shriram City Union Finance. Older vintages include the $1.22B buyout of Patni via iGate, exited when Capgemini acquired iGate.

The India leadership has seen recent change: former India head Shashank Singh stepped down in July 2024, and partner Harjot Dhaliwal now spearheads the India office, with Leo Puri serving as adviser and chairman of the Indian arm.