Enterprise planning software maker Anaplan is being acquired by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.7 billion. Founded in the UK and now based in San-Francisco, Anaplan offers cloud-based finance and planning software-as-a-service and counts almost 2,000 customers worldwide, including Coca-Cola, Shell, Thomas Cook and VMware. The company went public in 2018, two years after rival SaaS firm Workday considered an acquisition attempt. Under the terms of the deal, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Anaplan shareholders will receive $66 a share in cash, while the company’s current chief executive Frank Calderoni will continue to lead the company. The deal represents the latest in a string of high-profile leveraged buyouts of software companies in the last 18 months. The software sector experienced rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, attracting interest from private equity firms looking to capitalize on this growing trend. In November 2021, Advent International and Permira announced the $14 billion buyout of cybersecurity company McAfee, while Elliott Management and Vista Equity embarked on a $16.5 billion takeover of Citrix in January of this year. Thoma Bravo itself acquired cybersecurity firm Proofpoint for around $12 billion last year. “Anaplan is a clear leader in connected planning, solving critical business priorities for the world’s largest enterprises as they implement strategic and complex digital transformations,” said Holden Spaht, managing partner at Thoma Bravo said in a press release. “We have followed Anaplan for years and have seen the incredible value they bring customers through their best-in-class planning platform. We look forward to leveraging Thoma Bravo’s extensive operational and investment expertise in enterprise software to support Anaplan in its future growth.” Related content news Los consejos de 007 para que su empresa sea tan segura como el MI6 Como ha demostrado James Bond, incluso una organización sofisticada como el MI6, con presupuestos casi ilimitados y todos los artilugios tecnológicos, tiene que tener en cuenta las medidas de seguridad existentes cuando quiere infiltrar By Ryan Barrett, VP of privacy and security, Intermedia, Network World May 07, 2024 5 mins Security feature CDOs’ biggest problem? Getting colleagues to understand their role Chief data officers face several challenges, including new demands from AI, but they must also sell the value of their jobs to coworkers unsure what CDOs do. By Grant Gross May 07, 2024 7 mins Chief Data Officer Data Governance Business IT Alignment interview SAP forecasts clarity in the cloud After customers and user groups that adopted S/4HANA early accused SAP of bait-and-switch tactics, CIO editor-in-chief in Germany Martin Bayer recently sat with Christian Klein, CEO of the multinational software company, to clear the air on cloud rea By Martin Bayer May 07, 2024 5 mins SAP Generative AI Cloud Architecture opinion Rethinking ‘Big Data’ — and the rift between business and data ops As an era, ‘Big Data’ may be over, but its underlying value (and tensions) live on, even as organizations seek to make the leap to an AI future. By Thornton May May 07, 2024 5 mins Big Data Business IT Alignment Data Management PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe