Silver Lake has acquired German business software developer Software AG for a reported €2.2 billion ($2.42 billion). The offer represents a 53 percent premium to XETRA’s closing price of Software AG shares on April 20, 2023, and a 48 percent premium over the three-month volume-weighted average share price. The acquisition is subject to an acceptance threshold of 50 percent plus one share and other customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
The Software AG Foundation, Software AG’s largest investor, has supported Silver Lake’s offer and has signed a share purchase agreement to sell 25.1 percent of all shares. The Foundation will retain 5 percent of the shares, with a lock-up applied to the retained shares.
Silver Lake has previously invested €344 million to drive Software AG’s Helix transformation, resulting in Christian Lucas and James Whitehurst joining Software AG’s Supervisory Board. Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of Software AG, welcomed the proposed acquisition, saying it would allow them to accelerate the execution of their strategy, double the innovation in integration for customers and provide more outstanding opportunities to attract and develop talent. He thanked the Foundation and Dr. Schnell for their many years of support in bringing Software AG to its current level.
The acquisition of Software AG by Silver Lake would significantly improve the software company’s growth prospects and expand Silver Lake’s portfolio, allowing them to continue investing in promising technology companies. This follows Silver Lake’s acquisition of Qualtrics for $12.5 billion.
