Sedex delivers exceptional growth as LDC agrees exit

Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) have reached a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Sedex Information Exchange Ltd (SIEL/”Sedex”/”the Company”) – a global leader in supply chain risk management solutions – from Sedex Holdings Ltd (“SHL”), a membership organisation. SHL will retain a shareholding in SIEL under a new name, SHL Membership Ltd (SHLM).

The transaction marks a successful exit for LDC, the Company’s existing minority investor, whose 2023 investment helped Sedex evolve its data Platform, assessment tools and other solutions, supporting a more than doubling of revenue from 2022-2025.

Sedex was founded to make global supply chains more ethical and sustainable – to protect workers, reduce risk and drive lasting improvement across the industries and geographies that need it most. That purpose remains as important today as it was when the Company was first established in 2004. SHLM’s decision to retain a significant minority stake reflects its confidence that Sedex’s founding values will be strengthened under the Apax Funds’ ownership.

With LDC’s support, Sedex has implemented major initiatives, new products and feature enhancements for multi-tier supply chain visibility, site-level data, risk management and continuous improvement. These include a £20 million upgrade to the Sedex Platform, new supplier assessment tools and the launch of SMETA 7.0 – the most comprehensive evolution of the audit methodology in years.

Sedex also expanded its geographic footprint across key markets including the US, APAC and Europe, while launching a number of new product capabilities. Sedex now has 100,000 customers in 180 countries across 35 sectors including consumer goods, retail, and food and beverage, reflecting its importance as mission-critical infrastructure for enterprises to operate their supply chains more efficiently, resiliently and responsibly.

With supply chains under increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors and consumers, the investment will enable Sedex to further scale its Platform and assessment capabilities to enable deeper visibility and more effective risk management for the benefit of its customers and the broader supply chain ecosystem. It will do so by deepening penetration in core fast-moving consumer goods and retail markets, expanding into new sectors and geographies, broadening the product to cover a wider range of risk factors and deepening audit intelligence.

SHLM will continue to serve its founding mission of improving labour, environmental and other corporate responsibility practices in supply chains. It will use its net proceeds to continue to improve supply chain conditions globally, creating a charitable trust to progress targeted philanthropic investment in relevant initiatives. Upon completion, SHLM will actively engage and consult with its members to shape its activities.

Jon Hancock, CEO of Sedex, said: “Sedex has developed a uniquely powerful offering that equips companies around the world with the tools to manage risk, demonstrate improvement and drive responsible practices across the tiers, regions and facilities of complex supply chains.”