Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that owns analytics vendor Tibco, acquired robotic process automation vendor Blue Prism for $1.5 billion and plans to combine Tibco and Blue Prism once the acquisition closes. Blue Prism, which specializes in software robots that automate repetitive tasks, said Vista would pay each shareholder £11.25 per share, a 35% premium to the company’s last closing price of £8.32.
It’s the latest in a string of private equity deals for publicly-listed software companies. Earlier this year, security firm Proofpoint agreed a $12.3 billion sale to Thoma Bravo, while Cloudera is being bought by KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
Blue Prism is also among a multitude of British firms that have attracted interest from U.S. private equity investors. Supermarket chain Morrisons, infrastructure company John Laing, and aerospace firm Cobham have all been the target of takeover bids in recent months.
Following completion of the acquisition, Vista said it intends to indirectly transfer Blue Prism to portfolio company TIBCO, an enterprise data firm.
“Combining with Vista and TIBCO will ensure we remain at the forefront of the next generation of intelligent automation,” said Jason Kingdon, Chairman, and CEO of Blue Prism. “We can expand the range of products we offer our customers, with TIBCO’s global footprint and technologies; and, as a privately owned company, we will also have greater access to capital to pursue new growth opportunities via product investment and other potential M&A.”
Activist investor Coast Capital had expressed concern about the valuation of the company amid speculation it was set to be taken over by private equity buyers. However Coast, which owns approximately 3% of Blue Prism, recently came out in support of an acquisition. “Coast will be supportive of whatever deal gives the company the best opportunity to improve its prospects,” the firm’s founder, James Ratesh, told Bloomberg last week.
