Private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to acquire Workday, the cloud-based human resources and financial software company, in a potential deal valued at approximately $43 billion that would rank among the largest software buyouts in history, according to Reuters. Workday shares surged nearly 18% on the news, posting their best day since 2016.
The discussions between Silver Lake and Workday have been ongoing in recent months, but the talks remain fluid and no deal is guaranteed, according to sources familiar with the matter. Silver Lake could bring in additional investors to finance the transaction, mirroring its approach on the $55 billion take-private deal for videogame maker Electronic Arts last year, when the firm partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners.
Workday, based in Pleasanton, California, was founded in 2005 by co-founders Aneel Bhusri and David Duffield, both former PeopleSoft executives. The company went public in 2012 and serves more than 11,500 customers globally, including Netflix, U.S. Bank, Johns Hopkins University, and Thomson Reuters. Workday reported revenue of $9.6 billion in fiscal 2025, up 13%, while generating $2.9 billion in operating cash flow, up 19%, though revenue growth has slowed from 16% the previous year.
Bhusri returned to the CEO role in March 2026, replacing Carl Eschenbach, as the company navigates mounting pressure from artificial intelligence on traditional business software. Prior to Thursday’s acquisition report, Workday shares had fallen about 15% this year as investors questioned whether AI tools would upend the durability of legacy software platforms. The stock had declined more than 40% from its 2024 peak.
A Test of Private Equity Appetite for Software
The potential Workday deal signals a potential thaw in private equity’s cautious stance toward large software acquisitions. Private equity firms have largely stayed on the sidelines of major software buyouts this year as concerns over artificial intelligence made it harder to assess the future growth and value of traditional software companies. Hg Capital agreed in January to take financial software maker OneStream private for about $6.4 billion, and Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire payroll software provider Dayforce in a transaction valued at about $12.3 billion, but neither approached Workday’s scale.
Silver Lake has a proven track record in technology investments. The firm led the $24.4 billion leveraged buyout of Dell Technologies in 2013 and has invested in cloud software company VMware and experience-management software maker Qualtrics. Analyst Brent Thill of Jefferies noted on CNBC that CEO Bhusri and Egon Durban from Silver Lake “know each other well through many connections,” suggesting familiarity could facilitate the deal.
The stock closed at $206.45 on Thursday following the Reuters report, giving Workday a market value of around $51.1 billion. Neither Silver Lake nor Workday immediately responded to requests for comment on the talks.
Sources
- Reuters — Exclusive report on Silver Lake’s talks to acquire Workday, deal valuation, market reaction, and company background
- CNBC — Stock price movement, percentage gains, CEO transition details, and analyst commentary from Brent Thill
- Private Equity Wire — Potential deal valuation and market positioning
