Enterprise Software

Enterprise Software Consolidation

The Take-Private Wave

Aggregate announced value of landmark software take-privates by announcement year (curated census; hover for the deals behind each bar). 2022 was the crest; Dayforce's $12.3B deal in 2025 is the largest since.

Landmark Deals of the Consolidation Era

The deals that defined the wave, strategic and PE, including the one that failed: Adobe-Figma's abandonment marks the antitrust ceiling on strategic consolidation.

Deal	Value ($B)	Type	Status
Broadcom acquires VMware	~69 (incl. debt)	Strategic	Closed Nov 2023 after global regulatory reviews
Cisco acquires Splunk	28	Strategic	Closed Mar 2024
Adobe acquires Figma	20 (abandoned)	Strategic	Terminated Dec 2023 under EU/UK antitrust pressure
Citrix to Vista and Evergreen	16.5	Take-private	Closed 2022; the wave's opening bell
Thoma Bravo acquires Dayforce	12.3	Take-private	Closed Feb 2026; largest since 2022
Salesforce acquires Informatica	8	Strategic	Closed Nov 2025; agentic data layer
Smartsheet to Blackstone and Vista	8.4	Take-private	Closed Jan 2025
IBM acquires HashiCorp	6.4	Strategic	Closed Feb 2025 after FTC and CMA review
Paychex acquires Paycor	4.1	Strategic	Closed Apr 2025; HCM consolidation
ServiceNow acquires Moveworks	2.85	Strategic	Closed Dec 2025 after DOJ review

The Shrinking Public Universe

Public enterprise-software delistings per year via the tracked acquisitions, with near-zero IPO replenishment since 2021. Hover for the names behind each bar.

The Standing Bid: Flagship Software Buyout Funds

Final closes of flagship software-focused buyout funds. This is the capital that keeps a floor under mature SaaS valuations; Thoma Bravo alone closed $34.4B across three funds in June 2025.

Strategic M&A and the Antitrust Ceiling

The strategic timeline with regulatory outcomes: infrastructure and data deals clear after long reviews; the one mega-deal between direct competitors died.

2023-11
Broadcom closes VMware (~$69B incl. debt) after EU, UK and China reviews
2023-12
Adobe abandons $20B Figma deal under EU and UK pressure; pays $1B break fee
2024-03
Cisco closes Splunk ($28B): observability consolidates into networking
2025-02
IBM closes HashiCorp ($6.4B) after FTC and UK CMA review
2025-04
Paychex closes Paycor ($4.1B): HCM consolidates
2025-11
Salesforce closes Informatica (~$8B): the agentic data layer
2025-12
ServiceNow closes Moveworks ($2.85B) after a lengthy DOJ review

Roper: Organic vs Acquisition Contribution

Roper's disclosed components of revenue growth. Organic, acquisitions, and FX are reported separately; FX was roughly zero in these years, so the stacked bars equal total growth.

Implied Deal Value to Last Fiscal Year Revenue

Announced deal value divided by the target's last full-year GAAP revenue. These are implied ratios, not the NTM multiples a buyer underwrote. Value type (enterprise value, equity, or equity net of an existing stake) differs by deal.

Deal	Announced value	Value type	Last FY revenue	Implied	Note
Thoma Bravo acquires Dayforce Aug 2025	$12.3B EV	Enterprise value	FY2024 GAAP $1.76B	7.0x	All-cash take-private; closed Feb 2026.
Blackstone and Vista acquire Smartsheet Sep 2024	$8.4B transaction	Announced transaction value	FY2024 GAAP $958M	8.8x	Fiscal year ended January 31, 2024.
Cisco acquires Splunk Sep 2023	~$28B equity	Equity value	FY2024 GAAP $4.216B	6.6x	Cisco: approximately $28 billion in equity value; closed Mar 2024.
IBM acquires HashiCorp Apr 2024	$6.4B EV net of cash	Enterprise value, net of cash	FY2024 GAAP $583M	11.0x	Fiscal year ended January 31, 2024; closed Feb 2025.
Salesforce acquires Informatica May 2025	~$8B equity net of stake	Equity value, net of Salesforce's existing stake	FY2024 GAAP $1.64B	4.9x	Salesforce already held a stake; closed Nov 2025.

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