Private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to acquire human resources software maker Workday.
Workday shares rose nearly 18% following reports that private equity firm Silver Lake is in preliminary discussions to acquire the enterprise software company. The potential buyout would be one of the largest private equity software acquisitions in history, signaling a possible end to the 'SaaSpocalypse'—a period of market disruption where investors feared artificial intelligence would undermine traditional software-as-a-service business models. Aneel Bhusri, the co-founder and CEO of Workday, returned to the leadership role in March to navigate the company through an AI-driven reorganization. Despite recent pressure on software stocks, analysts suggest that the terminal risk of AI for large-scale enterprise software is potentially overdone. If the deal proceeds, becoming a private company could help Workday accelerate its artificial intelligence transition and drive future revenue growth. The stock closed at a market value of nearly $51 billion following the news.