Private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to take Workday private, in a deal that would rank among the largest software buyouts in history, according to Reuters and Axios. Workday, the enterprise software company best known for its HR and financial management systems, is now worth about $51 billion — shares jumped 18% on the report.
The conversations have been ongoing for months, and Silver Lake could bring in additional investors to finance the deal, people familiar with the matter said. The sponsor previously teamed up with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners for its roughly $55 billion take-private of video game maker Electronic Arts last year. Earlier this year, Thoma Bravo agreed to a $16 billion acquisition of Workday rival Dayforce — a sign that private equity sees value in enterprise software even as AI disrupts the sector.
For analysts, the potential deal is a confidence signal for a battered software market. "The potential deal indicates Silver Lake believes large systems of record are less vulnerable to AI disruption, given they're ingrained in enterprises, hard to replicate, and can leverage data for AI initiatives," said Chris Metinko of Axios Pro Deals.
A take-private would give Workday's management more room to invest without quarterly earnings pressure as it competes with the likes of SAP and Oracle and incorporates AI features into its products. It would also mark one of the biggest exits from the public market in a standout year for megadeals.
