The 12 Biggest PE Acquisitions in the Tech Sector This Year

The private equity space has been quite active in 2024, serving as a powerful “alternative” source of liquidity for tech startups and scaleups looking for an exit. Just this month, TechCrunch reported that EQT had acquired a majority stake in cybersecurity firm Acronis at a valuation of around $4 billion, following in the footsteps of another exit in which EQT acquired enterprise middleware company WSO2 for $600 million.

But private equity has also been busy in the public markets, with several large deals looking to turn around struggling companies with strong growth prospects. According to PitchBook, there will be 136 private-equity-led take-private deals in 2023, up 15% from a year earlier. New data provided to TechCrunch by PitchBook suggests there will be 97 such deals so far in 2024, putting us on track to match last year’s total (with some margin of error) if the current trajectory continues.

Of the take-private deals that have closed so far in 2024, 46 are in the technology sector. TechCrunch filtered these deals to identify those that specifically targeted product-focused companies (rather than consulting or IT services firms) and separated out all acquisitions valued at $1 billion or more.

We have included deals that have already closed in 2024 or are expected to close in 2024, including deals first announced last year.

Adevinta: $13 billion

Norwegian media group Schibsted spun off classifieds platform Adevinta into a standalone company in 2019. With existing online marketplaces in France, Spain, Brazil and the UK, Adevinta acquired eBay’s classifieds business for $9.2 billion in 2020.

In its original spin-off in 2019, Schibsted listed Adevinta on the Oslo Stock Exchange at a valuation of $6 billion. In late 2023, it was reported that private equity firms Permira and Blackstone were leading a consortium to oust Adevinta in a deal worth 141 billion Norwegian kroner ($13 billion), a deal that was eventually completed in May.

Squarespace: $6.9 billion

British investment firm Permira announced plans in May to acquire website creator Squarespace in an all-cash deal valued at $6.9 billion.

Squarespace filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, shortly after raising $300 million at a valuation of $10 billion. The company peaked at $8 billion in market cap in mid-2021, but its shares began to decline, falling to lows of $2 billion in 2022. The company had already been on a rebound this year, with its market cap rising to more than $5 billion on strong earnings, prompting Permira to act.

The proposed privatization transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Nuvei: $6.3 billion

Canadian fintech firm Nuvei, which offers businesses a range of services including payment processing, risk management and currency conversion, signed an agreement in April to be acquired by Advent International in a deal valued at $6.3 billion.

The Ryan Reynolds-backed company originally filed to list in 2020 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and a year later on the Nasdaq in the U.S. The company reached a peak valuation of over $24 billion in 2021 before hitting a low of $2.6 billion in October 2023.

The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025 at the latest.

PowerSchool: $5.6 billion

K-12 educational software provider PowerSchool is being acquired by Bain Capital, valuing the Folsom, Calif.-based company at $5.6 billion.

PowerSchool was originally acquired by Apple in 2001 for $62 million in an all-stock deal, and Apple sold PowerSchool to Pearson five years later. Pearson then sold it to Vista Equity Partners in 2015, with Onex Partners joining as an investor three years later.

PowerSchool went public in 2021, with a listing on the NYSE giving the company an initial valuation of around $3.5 billion. It later rose to $5.5 billion by the end of 2021, before falling to $1.8 billion within a year, and then hovering around $3.5 billion for the past few years.

The acquisition transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.

Darktrace: $5.3 billion

British cybersecurity giant Darktrace is set to go private in a $5.3 billion deal led by an entity called Luke Bidco Ltd., formed by private equity giant Thoma Bravo.

Founded in 2013, Darktrace raised approximately $230 million in VC funding and achieved a private valuation of $1.65 billion before listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 at an opening day valuation of $2.4 billion. The full valuation based on the Thoma Bravo offering is $5.4 billion on a fully diluted basis, with an enterprise value of $4.99 billion.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Infrastructure: $4.8 billion

Education technology company Instructure went public in 2015 but was acquired by Thoma Bravo in a $2 billion deal four years later.

In 2021, the private equity giant spun off Instructure as a public company again on the NYSE, but it was valued at around $3.5 billion. But KKR stepped in in July with a $4.8 billion offering, planning to delist the company again.

The transaction is expected to close in late 2024.

Alteryx: $4.4 billion

Data analytics software provider Alteryx has been taken private in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.

Alteryx debuted on the NYSE in 2017, and its shares have since soared past $12 billion. However, its market cap has been in free fall since 2021, reaching a low of $2 billion before Clearlake Capital Group and Insight Partners made an offer last December.

The transaction to take over the company was finalized in March this year.

EngageSmart: $4 billion

First announced in October 2023, Vista Equity Partners made a $4 billion offer to acquire customer engagement software provider EngageSmart in a $4 billion deal. EngageSmart went public on the NYSE in 2021 and had a market capitalization of around $2 billion to $3 billion until Vista Equity Partners made a $4 billion offer.

The transaction closed in January, and the EngageSmart brand is now being retired and replaced by two separate companies: InvoiceCloud and SimplePractice.

Rover: $2.3 billion

Pet care marketplace Rover debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange via a SPAC in 2021. In late 2023, Blackstone announced its intention to acquire the company for $2.3 billion.

This all-cash transaction was finally completed in February, and Rover once again became a private company.

Everbridge: $1.8 billion

Thoma Bravo first announced its intention to acquire event management software company Everbridge for $1.5 billion in early February. After further negotiations, Thoma Bravo raised the price to $1.8 billion.

Founded in 2002, Everbridge went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in 2016 and its shares peaked at $6.4 billion in 2021 before falling below $1 billion before Thoma Bravo entered the market.

The transaction was finalized in July.

Kahoot: $1.7 billion

Back in July 2023, a consortium of buyers led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced it was acquiring e-learning platform Kahoot in a deal worth $1.7 billion.

The announcement comes just over two years after Kahoot debuted on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The sale price represented a 53.1% premium compared to the last day of trading before specific investor holdings were disclosed in May.

The transaction was finally completed in January this year, and Kahoot delisted from the Oslo Børs stock exchange.

Model N: $1.25 billion

Model N, a platform that helps companies automate decisions about pricing, incentives and regulatory compliance, went private in a $1.25 billion transaction led by Vista Equity Partners.

Founded in 1999, Model N went public on the NYSE in 2013, though its valuation has rarely topped $1.5 billion—it fell below $1 billion in the six months before Vista Equity Partners entered the game.

The transaction was completed in June 2024, and Model N became a private company.