July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Apax Partners LLP agreed to buy Bankrate Inc., a provider of personal-finance information to consumers, for about $571 million in one of the largest acquisitions this year by a private-equity firm.

Apax will pay $28.50 a share for North Palm Beach, Florida- based Bankrate, the companies said today in a statement. That’s about 18 percent more than Bankrate’s average price during the past 10 trading sessions.

The London-based firm, which oversees more than $35 billion, will fund the purchase with cash, forgoing the use of debt that had been the cornerstone of private-equity deals until credit markets collapsed in 2007. The transaction would be among the 10 biggest private-equity acquisitions in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Private-equity dealmaking largely evaporated two years ago when credit markets dried up, triggered by record U.S. subprime defaults. Buyout firms, fueled by debt offered by Wall Street banks, announced a record $1.4 trillion worth of transactions in 2006 and 2007.

Apax plans to begin a tender offer for Bankrate’s outstanding shares no later than July 28, according to the statement. Bankrate may terminate the agreement if it receives a better offer by paying Apax $30 million, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Bankrate rose $4.03, or 16 percent, to $28.65 at 4:29 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The stock has dropped 25 percent this year, compared with the 4.6 percent increase by the Standard & Poor’s 600 Smallcap Index.

Bankrate.com publishes “safety and soundness” ratings for U.S. banks, using measures like earnings and asset quality to measure financial strength. The company also runs Web sites including Savingforcollege.com, Mortgage-calc.com and Bankaholic.com.

The company today also announced preliminary results for the second quarter of 2009. Bankrate’s net income fell to $1.9 million, or 10 cents a share, from $4.1 million, or 21 cents, a year before, according to a statement. Revenue fell to $31 million from $40.2 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Kelly in New York at jkelly14@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 22, 2009 17:40 EDT