Classifieds. Apax private equity is acquiring the New Zealand online market place Trade Me for NZ$1.75bn. Trade Me is a public company launched in 1999 and now has more than 600 employees. Apax won a bidding war with Hellman & Friedman. Trade Me was founded by Sam Morgan who sold it to Fairfax Media in 2006 for NZ$700m. The Australian publisher, in turn, floated Trade Me in late 2011 at a valuation of NZ$1.07bn. Trade Me is an attractive target because it is a leader in the New Zealand online classified market for automotive, jobs and real estate, and Morgan Stanley sees plenty of upside for future investors: “We estimate that, in New Zealand, only 60% of ad dollars will be online in 2019, versus a more mature Australian market at 90%. This underpins Trade Me’s earnings growth trajectory.”
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Apax acquires NZ classifieds
