Virtualization giant Citrix Systems, which has struggled over the years with its transition to cloud-based storage and the subscription model prevalent in today’s businesses, has announced that it is being acquired and taken private by private equity firms Vista Equity and Evergreen Coast Capital for US$16.5 billion, which includes the assumption of Citrix debt. The all-cash deal is expected to close in the middle of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and approval by Citrix shareholders.
Vista and Evergreen say they intend to combine Citrix with another member of Vista’s portfolio, enterprise data management firm TIBCO, which, they say in the announcement, “brings together Citrix’s secure digital workspace and application delivery suite with TIBCO’s real-time intelligent data and analytics capabilities to empower customers and users with the secure application and information access and insights they need to accelerate digital transformation and navigate the hybrid workplace.”
The combined company will serve 400,000 customers, including 98 per cent of the Fortune 500, with 100 million users in 100 countries. Citrix will continue to operate under the Citrix name and brand, and will remain headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
“Over the past three decades, Citrix has established itself as the clear leader in secure hybrid work. Our market-leading platform provides secure and reliable access to all of the applications and information employees need to get work done, wherever it needs to get done. By combining with TIBCO, we will expand this platform and the outcomes our customers achieve,” said Bob Calderoni, chair of the Citrix board of directors and interim chief executive officer and president, in a statement. “Together with TIBCO, we will be able to operate with greater scale and provide a larger customer base with a broader range of solutions to accelerate their digital transformations and enable them to deliver the future of hybrid work. As a private company, we will have increased financial and strategic flexibility to invest in high-growth opportunities, such as DaaS (desktop-as-a-service), and accelerate its ongoing cloud transition.”
“Citrix and TIBCO provide mission-critical software and services to many the world’s most successful businesses, and we see tremendous value in combining their respective world-class offerings to help companies gather insight from the growing volumes of data generated by the hybrid work economy. Both businesses have now completed transitions to approximately 90 per cent recurring revenue, poising the go-forward combined business to drive future growth,” added John Stalder, managing director at Vista. “We look forward to partnering with Evergreen and the Citrix and TIBCO teams to ensure this is a seamless transition for all stakeholders.”
