BDA Advises Ant Capital Partners on Sale of Apple World to ZIGExN

New York, NY, January 16, 2018 --(PR.com)-- BDA Partners is pleased to announce that its client, Ant
Capital Partners, has agreed to the sale of its portfolio company, Apple World Holdings, to ZIGExN. The
transaction is expected to close on February 9th, 2018.

Apple World operates one of Japan's largest online hotel booking services. Apple World access to
110,000 hotels in 150 countries around the world through its B2B “Apple World” and B2C “hotelista.jp”
platforms. Apple World customers comprise over 3,000 primarily Japanese travel agencies, affiliated
companies, and individual travelers.

Transaction highlights:

Relationships and sector knowledge: Ant Capital was attracted to BDA's expertise in the travel
technology sector, as well as BDA's ability to identify and effectively engage with buyers both in Japan
and globally. BDA successfully positioned the investment merits of Apple World to drive interest
worldwide.

Global execution expertise: BDA executed a global transaction process that produced a competitive
dynamic, an attractive valuation, and favourable economic terms for the seller.

Trusted guidance: Hands-on involvement and effective communication from BDA's bankers ensured
seamless execution, resulting in an outstanding outcome for Ant Capital.

BDA Deal Team

Koichiro Yasuda, Chairman - Japan, Tokyo
Jeff Acton, Head of Technology, Managing Director, Tokyo
Matthew Doull, Head of Digital Media, Managing Director, Hong Kong
Toshiaki Yokohara, Director, Tokyo
Philip Lazar, Associate, Tokyo
Saki Muto, Analyst, Tokyo
Alissa Schneideman, Analyst, Tokyo

About Ant Capital Partners

Ant Capital Partners is a private equity firm specializing in private equity and secondary investments. In
private equity, the firm participates in buyout, business succession, carve-out, and capital restructuring
related investment opportunities. In secondary investments, the firm seeks to acquire minority share
securities of unlisted Japanese SMEs (Secondary Direct Investments) and interest in private equity funds
held by institutional investors and businesses (Secondary LP Interest Investments). It invests primarily in
the internet business (mobile and content), consumer retail, light manufacturing, business services, the
electronic business (semiconductors and communications), the bio-healthcare business (new drug
development), and the new service business (financial and environmental services) sectors. The firm
invests mainly in companies based in Japan, China, and other East Asian countries, and seeks to carry out

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small-cap buyouts of mature companies between $50m and $150m with enterprise values between $20m
and $250m. www.antcapital.jp

About ZIGExN
ZIGExN engages in the life media platform business in Japan. The company operates through three
segments: Human Resource, Real Estate, and Lifestyle. It operates Job change EX, a job change and job
information site; Dispatch EX, a Website covering job information and agency information of staffing
agencies and temporary staffing companies; Part-timer EX, a part time job recruitment site; Nurse
recruitment EX, a nurse recruitment/job change site; Pharmacist recruitment EX, a pharmacist
recruitment information search site; and Lease Smocker, a search site for real estate rental housing. The
company also operates Premium Smocker-ex, a search site for high-end rental condos; Mysumi EX, a site
specialized in real estate sale, land use, and leasing management activities; Home purchase EX, a Website
that provides information about new and used apartments and houses; Moving quotation EX, a site that
offers moving estimate of companies; SmaRE, a marketing support tool for the purchase and sale of real
estate properties; Minorino, a used apartment trading portal specialized in renovating properties; and
Provider EX, a comparison site that helps in high-speed mobile communication. It operates Secondhand
car EX, a used car information site; Car purchase EX, a comparison site for cars; Marriage EX, a marital
information portal; Travel EX, a domestic travel site; and SHOP ZIGExN, a new shopping site that
allows customers to purchase overseas fashion. ZIGExN was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in
Tokyo, Japan. zigexn.co.jp

About BDA
BDA Partners is a leader in cross-border investment banking involving Asia. BDA advises on M&A and
capital raising. BDA has been consistently owned and managed by the same team since 1996. BDA has a
track record of providing independent advice to blue-chip corporate and financial sponsor clients from
North America, Europe, and Asia. BDA is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Dubai,
Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. BDA was named
Investment Bank of the Year 2017 by both The M&A Advisor and ACG New York. BDA formed
partnerships with William Blair & Company in 2011 and Development Bank of Japan in 2017.
www.bdapartners.com

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners' affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc, a broker-dealer
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd is licensed
and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated
activities to professional investors.

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Contact Information:
BDA Partners
Euan Rellie
212-265-5300
Contact via Email
www.bdapartners.com

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/741605

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