Silver Lake in Talks to Buy Workday

On August 13, news surfaced that private equity firm Silver Lake is negotiating to acquire Workday, which currently has a market value of around $43 billion. If successful, this acquisition could become one of the largest software deals ever.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, Silver Lake and Workday have been conversing about this potential deal for the past few months. It’s worth noting that these talks are still ongoing, and there’s no certainty that a deal will be finalized.

There are indications that Silver Lake may involve other investors to help finance the acquisition. This would mark one of their biggest technology investments yet. For context, last year, Silver Lake collaborated with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners in a significant $55 billion deal to take video game company Electronic Arts private.

Neither Silver Lake nor Workday provided immediate comments regarding the negotiations.

This year, Workday’s stock has seen a decline of around 15%. With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, investors are starting to question the long-term viability of traditional software solutions. The stock is notably down more than 40% since its peak in 2024.

A potential acquisition like this could signal a rebound in large technology deals after a period of relative quiet. Earlier this year, Thoma Bravo reached a $16 billion agreement to acquire payroll software provider Dayforce.

Workday was established in 2005 by former PeopleSoft executives Aneel Bhusri and David Duffield, going public in 2012. The company specializes in cloud-based software for human resources, payroll, finance, and planning, serving over 11,500 clients globally, including notable names like Netflix, US Bank, and Johns Hopkins University.

As of February, Bhusri has returned as Workday’s CEO, managing increasing pressures from AI advancements affecting traditional business software.