NEW YORK — Private equity firm Silver Lake is in active discussions to acquire enterprise cloud software provider Workday in a transaction valued at approximately $43 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. If finalized, the proposed buyout would rank among the largest technology sector acquisitions in corporate history. Representatives for both organizations have held preliminary negotiations in recent months as traditional software providers navigate intensified market scrutiny driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Workday, which maintains a market capitalization of roughly $43 billion, provides financial management and human resources software to more than 11,500 corporate clients globally, including major institutions such as Netflix, U.S. Bank, and Johns Hopkins University. The company's stock has faced downward pressure, falling about 15 percent over the year and trading more than 40 percent below its 2024 peak. Co-founder Aneel Bhusri returned to the chief executive role in February to steer the enterprise through mounting competitive challenges.
Sources close to the negotiations caution that talks remain ongoing and no final agreement is guaranteed. To finance a transaction of this magnitude, Silver Lake could potentially partner with co-investors, mirroring previous large-scale consortium buyouts. The potential deal signals a broader resurgence in multi-billion-dollar technology private equity takeovers following a prolonged period of subdued deal-making activity across global markets.
Why is Silver Lake pursuing a potential acquisition of Workday?
Silver Lake is pursuing a buyout of Workday to capitalize on depressed valuations in the traditional enterprise software sector, which has faced mounting investor skepticism amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. By taking the major human resources and financial platform private, the firm aims to restructure its operations and long-term strategy away from public market volatility.
Discussions between the two companies remain strictly confidential, with further updates on transaction terms anticipated ahead of the upcoming corporate earnings reporting cycle on August 28, 2026.