Apax finishes exit

Private equity group Apax Partners, one of the biggest backers of European biotech startups in the 1990s, finished its ongoing exit of the sector by selling its stake in Wilex AG (Xetra:WL6) to the German biotech's two largest shareholders. Apax was one of the original founders of the company and Wilex's second largest shareholder.

Apax, which held a 13.3% stake at the end of April, sold half its position to Dievini Hopp Biotech Holding at the beginning of the month for €3.90 a share and last week sold the remainder -1.06 million shares - to UCB Group (Euronext:UCB) for an undisclosed sum(see BioCentury, June 7). The purchase increased UCB's stake from 11.4% to 18.05%...