William Blair acted as lead financial advisor to Sedex, a portfolio company of Sedex Holdings Limited (SHLM) and LDC, in connection with its pending strategic investment from Apax Funds. The transaction was signed on May 6, 2026, and is subject to customary conditions and approvals.
About the Companies
Apax is a global private equity advisory firm investing in mid-market businesses across the Technology, Services and Internet/Consumer sectors. Combining the scale of a global firm with the focus of a sector specialist, Apax works with management teams to create long-term value through operational value creation. With more than 50 years of private equity experience in operational value creation, Apax has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $80 billion.
Sedex is a global technology company specialising in data, insights and professional services to empower supply chain sustainability. Sedex’s platform, tools and services enable businesses to easily manage and improve their social, ethical and environmental performance, manage risk and meet their supply chain sustainability goals. Sedex has over 20 years of expertise and provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for all businesses – including SMETA, our world-leading site-level social audit, which is SSCI-recognised. We are an official GRI Software & Tools Partner, and certified for ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management). We are proud to work with a community of 100,000 customers and 120,000 supply chain sites across 35 sectors globally. This includes some of the world’s most recognisable brands, such as JDE, Nestlé, Molson Coors, Yum! Brands, Marks & Spencer, Mengniu, Tesco, Asahi, Li & Fung, John Lewis Partnership (JLP) and Barclays.
SHLM is a membership organisation incorporated as a company limited by guarantee under English law. As a membership organisation, SHLM operates for the mutual benefit of all its members. It protects and promotes its vision to drive sustainability in supply chains, in alignment with the Objects (mission) set out in its Articles of Association – to promote improved labour conditions and other corporate social responsibility practices in global supply chains. It will continue to advance its founding mission through SHLM and its newly established charitable foundation.
LDC is a private equity investor and part of Lloyds Banking Group. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. LDC has invested £3.7 billion to back 176 management teams over the last decade. Today, it has a portfolio of more than 90 businesses representing all regions and sectors of the UK economy. LDC-backed businesses have grown 3.1x more than the average medium-sized business over the last 10 years.
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