U.S. private equity giant Thoma Bravo has acquired British enterprise software company Anaplan for $10.7 billion, according to CNBC.
The deal, announced Monday (March 21, local time), will see Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal at $66 per share.
In 2006, Guy Haddleton, Sue Haddleton and Michael Gould founded Anaplan in a barn in Yorkshire, England.
The financial planning software provider has more than 1,900 customers worldwide and is seen as a competitor to the likes of SAP, Oracle and Microsoft.
Frank Calderoni, chairman and chief executive of Anaplan, said in a statement that the acquisition marks the beginning of a new chapter for the company.
“We believe that Thoma Bravo’s resources and insights will help us accelerate and expand our growth strategy,” he said.
Thoma Bravo manages more than $103 billion in assets.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022 if there is no objection from regulators or Anaplan shareholders. Goldman Sachs and Qatalyst Partners acted as financial advisors.
Anaplan listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 under the ticker symbol “PLAN.” Before that, Anaplan had raised more than $240 million in funding from Amazon and Tesla backer Baillie Gifford, as well as Salesforce. The company also moved its headquarters to San Francisco, California.
Over the past 20 years, Thoma Bravo has acquired or invested in more than 375 companies.
Holden Spaht, managing partner of Thoma Bravo, said in a statement that his firm has been following Anaplan for several years, which it calls a leader in “connected planning.”
News broke last week that activist investors have taken a stake in Anaplan.
Keith Meister’s Corvex Management and Scott Ferguson’s Sachem Head Capital Management joined forces to seek reform at Anaplan.
Corvex and Sachem Head bought Anaplan shares because they believed they were undervalued and “an attractive investment opportunity,” according to regulatory filings released last Thursday. Jonathan Soros, son of investor George Soros, has also joined the buying frenzy through JS Capital Management.
The three companies together hold about 9 percent of Anaplan’s outstanding shares, according to filings.
Shares of Anaplan peaked in February 2021 and were down around 40% last week from last year’s highs.
Shares of the company surged more than 25% in premarket trading on Monday to around $65 a share.
