By Amy-Jo Crowley, Valentina Za and Elvira Pollina LONDON/MILAN: Apax Partners has held initial talks with potential advisers and investors as it considers selling Italy's Lutech , two sources told Reuters, adding that a sale could value the IT services provider at around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion). Apax took control of Lutech three years ago, when it bought a majority stake from U.
S. buyout group One Equity Partners in a deal that valued the Milan-based company at 500 million euros, a source told Reuters at the time. A sale would not take place before the first quarter of 2025, said the two sources and another briefed by Apax on the matter.
All three declined to be named as the talks are private. Advt Apax and Lutech both declined to comment. Although the sources said no adviser had yet been selected, one said a sale mandate was expected to be awarded soon and potential advisers were informally putting forward proposals.
Lutech has grown its business supplying services such as artificial intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity , e-commerce, digital marketing and remote working solutions to companies in sectors from manufacturing to finance and fashion. Its core profit is now above 100 million euros, two of the sources said, adding that given industry multiples of between 8 and 10 times core earnings, Lutech could be valued at around 1 billion euros. Lutech bought the Italian business of French IT giant Atos in 2022, reaching pro-forma combined revenues of 487 million euros an.
