Silver Lake in Talks to Acquire Workday in Potential $50 Billion-Plus Software Buyout

Private equity firm Silver Lake is in discussions to acquire Workday, in what could become one of the largest software buyouts ever, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.

The discussions have been ongoing for several months, although there is no certainty that a transaction will be completed. Workday's shares jumped nearly 18% following news of the potential deal, lifting the company's market value to approximately $51.1 billion at Thursday's close.

Silver Lake may bring additional investors into the transaction to help finance a potential acquisition. The private equity firm has previously participated in major technology deals, including the take-private transaction involving Electronic Arts.

The talks come as private equity firms face growing uncertainty around traditional software companies as artificial intelligence rapidly changes the technology industry. Large software take-private transactions have been relatively limited this year, making a potential Workday acquisition a major test of investor confidence in established enterprise software businesses.

Founded in 2005, Workday provides cloud-based software covering human resources, payroll, finance, spending and planning. The company serves more than 11,500 customers globally. Its technology is widely used for managing workforce and business operations, placing the company at the intersection of enterprise software, HR technology and the growing AI transformation.

Workday is also increasing its focus on AI as it responds to changing expectations around traditional business software. Aneel Bhusri returned as CEO in February as the company navigates the industry's evolving competitive landscape.