Apax Partners has agreed to acquire Advantage Sales and Marketing

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/private-equity-firm-may-buy-marketer/?nl=business&emc=dlbka31

Apax Partners has agreed to acquire Advantage Sales and Marketing from J.W. Childs and BAML Capital Partners, the latest large leveraged buyout in which a company passes from one private equity group to another.

The deal values Advantage at about $1.8 billion, according to a person close to the deal who requested anonymity because he was unauthorized to discuss it publicly.
Apax will acquire about 85 percent of the company, with Advantage’s existing management owning the rest.

Advantage, based in Irvine, Calif., is a leading sales and marketing agency for consumer goods, working with clients like J.M. Smucker and Johnson & Johnson to maximize the value of their brands.

The company has about $1 billion in annual revenue and is expected to generate about $180 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, according to this person.

J.W. Childs and BAML Capital Partners, formerly Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, acquired closely held Advantage in 2006 for $1.05 billion. The firms are expected to make roughly three times their cash investment on the deal, which is expected to close by year-end.