Apax Funds to Sell Their Majority Stake in Paycor HCM, Inc. to Paychex, Inc.

7th January 2025

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) today announced that Paycor HCM, Inc. (Nasdaq: PYCR) (“Paycor”), a leading provider of human capital management (“HCM”) software, has entered into a definitive agreement with Paychex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PAYX) (“Paychex”) to be acquired in an all-cash transaction for $22.50 per share, representing a total enterprise value of $4.1 billion.  Funds advised by Apax, together with certain of their affiliates, currently own a majority of Paycor’s outstanding common stock.

The Apax Funds acquired a majority stake in Paycor in November 2018 for $1.3 billion and took the company public in July 2021. Over the past six years, Apax has partnered closely with Paycor’s leadership team in the transformation of the company – accelerating its top-line growth, expanding it into tier one cities across North America, and building a modern HCM platform for the mid-market. 

Jason Wright, Partner at Apax and Chair of Paycor’s Board of Directors, said: “We could not be more proud of our partnership with Raul and the Paycor team. The company has tripled in size since the original investment. This exceptional growth was fueled by strategic investments in product and customer service. Paycor’s world-class management team has created an industry leader in mid-market HCM software.”
 
Raul Villar, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Paycor, said: “Apax has been a committed and valuable partner to Paycor over the past six years. Jason and the Apax team have been instrumental in shaping Paycor’s strategic vision, investing for long-term profitable growth and scaling our overall enterprise capabilities. We thank the entire Apax team for their guidance and unwavering support for Paycor and our loyal associates and clients.”
 
Funds advised by Apax have a long history of investing across the software industry and in subsectors such as HCM software. In 2024, the Apax Funds acquired the Zellis Group, one of the leading providers of payroll and HR software solutions to customers in the UK and Ireland and an emerging leader in the global benefits administration software market. Other noteworthy past and current software industry investments include Duck Creek Technologies, Epicor Software Corporation, Sophos Group, ECi Software, and RealPage, Inc.
 
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as Paycor’s exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as Paycor’s legal advisor.