Major NC employer Citrix sold in private $16.5B deal

Citrix campus in Raleigh via Citrix

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Citrix Systems, Inc. announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses to be acquired in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.5 billion.  

The investment firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital intend to combine Citrix and TIBCO Software, one of Vista’s portfolio companies. TIBCO is a global leader in enterprise data management.   

The combination brings together Citrix’s digital workspace and application delivery suite with TIBCO’s real-time intelligent data and analytics capabilities designed to offer customers and users secure application and information access and insights.  

Raleigh is one of three nationwide hubs for the company, and is home to hundreds of Citrix employees. The union will create one of the world’s largest software providers, serving 400,000 customers, including 98 percent of the Fortune 500, with 100 million users in 100 countries.   

“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.   

“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, and accelerate its ongoing cloud transition.”  

Added Dan Streetman, CEO of TIBCO, “There has never been a better time to be in the business of connected intelligent analytics, and we’re thrilled to bring our industry-leading solutions to Citrix’s global customers. The workplace has changed forever, and companies everywhere will require real-time access to faster, smarter insights from the increasingly large volumes of data available to them, their employees, and their ecosystems. I couldn’t be more excited about our combined vision and look forward to a strong partnership.”  

“We have always viewed Citrix as a true technology pioneer, building and defining so many categories that have changed the landscape of the industry,” said Monti Saroya, Co-Head of Vista’s Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “As a private company, Citrix will have access to additional resources and support, as well as more flexibility to take advantage of strong secular tailwinds with trends supporting modern and secure remote hybrid work to serve the combined customer base and invest in high growth markets.”  

“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% recurring revenue, poising the go-forward combined business to drive future growth,” said 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.” 

Under the terms of the agreement, Citrix shareholders will receive $104.00 in cash per share.