Apax Global Alpha adds €3m to WGSN after IWSR deal

Apax Global Alpha Limited (LON:APAX), the closed-ended investment company providing access to the Apax Private Equity Funds, has announced that it expects to invest an additional c.€3m indirectly in WGSN following WGSN’s acquisition of IWSR.

On 5 June 2025, WGSN, an Apax XI Fund portfolio company in which Apax Global Alpha is a limited partner, announced that it has acquired IWSR, a global leader in data, analytics, and insights for the beverage alcohol industry.

WGSN is a leading consumer trend forecaster, providing global trend insights across a wide range of industries including fashion, beauty, food & drink, interiors, and consumer technology. Apax XI first invested in WGSN in 2024 and saw the opportunity to drive value creation by expanding into new products, verticals, and customer bases through M&A.

IWSR is a leading global provider of data and insights for the alcoholic beverage market. It offers proprietary data covering more than 160 countries, built from over 40 years of supplier-contributed information. IWSR presented a compelling opportunity to expand WGSN’s position in the beverage space and the move supports WGSN’s strategy to expand its market-leading trend forecasting capabilities, AI, data analytics, and insights across a broad range of consumer industries.

Including this acquisition, AGA has invested a total of approximately €24.7m in WGSN on a look-through basis. Note that AGA’s investment is calculated based on the look-through positions of Apax XI’s overall investment in WGSN and is translated based on the latest applicable exchange rates at the time of each investment¹. AGA has a commitment of c.$700m to Apax XI².

Apax Global Alpha, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors with access to a portfolio of private equity funds advised by Apax as well as a smaller portfolio of debt instruments.

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