Apax Partners to take minority stake in SMART Technologies

SMART Technologies Inc. announces that funds advised by Apax Partners will take a significant minority position in the company. Each of the founders, David Martin and Nancy Knowlton, and Intel Capital will continue to retain significant minority interests. Martin and Knowlton will also retain their positions atop the company as Executive Chairman and CEO, respectively. No changes are anticipated in the company’s operations as a result of the investment. The investment is expected to close shortly pending regulatory approval. The company is not disclosing details of the transaction.

The announcement of the investment comes on the heels of recently announced agreements with Hewlett-Packard and Cambridge University Press. HP, one of the world’s largest IT companies, has become a reseller of SMART’s products through its K-12 education sales team in the United States. SMART has also entered into an exclusive alliance with Cambridge University Press, the world’s oldest publisher, to distribute its education content in North America. SMART continues to announce significant enhancements to its product lines along with new product offerings.

“The interactive display and group collaboration tools market for use both in education and enterprises is expanding rapidly, and we believe this is a market with very significant expansion to come. SMART is a leader in this area, and this investment reaffirms our belief in this market space.” Says Salim Nathoo, Partner, Apax Partners. “We look forward to working with the company to build on its success.”

“Today’s announcement is another example of Intel Capital’s focus on working creatively to benefit our portfolio companies,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital. “We invested early in SMART Technologies and are pleased that Apax Partners’ involvement will help the company expand its positive impact in the future.”

“We are delighted with the addition of Apax Partners as an investor in the company. Their deep technology sector expertise, local presence, and global platform will be of great help to us as we continue our next phase of growth.” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “This addition, coupled with Intel’s, Dave’s and my continued involvement, gives us the strength to execute on our plan to make SMART a significant global player in the broader collaboration space.”

SMART and the founders were advised on the transaction by RBC Capital Markets, and Apax Partners was advised by Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited. Intel Capital acted on its own behalf.