The private equity realm has been quite active in 2024, providing an alternate source of liquidity for technology startups and scale-ups seeking exit opportunities. In the latest news, TechCrunch reported that EQT acquired a majority stake in cybersecurity firm Acronis for around $4 billion. This followed another acquisition, where EQT purchased enterprise middleware company WSO2 for $600 million.
Private equity firms have also been active in the public markets, with a significant number of take-private deals completed to transform underperforming companies with strong growth potential. According to PitchBook, there were 136 take-private deals led by private equity firms in 2023, a 15% increase from the previous year. New data from PitchBook indicates that so far in 2024, there have been 97 such deals, putting us on track to match last year’s figure.
Of the take-private deals completed in 2024, 46 are in the technology sector. TechCrunch has identified deals focusing on product-centric companies valued at $1 billion or more from this list of transactions.
Included in this list are transactions that have closed in 2024 or are set to close this year. This encompasses deals that were initially announced last year.
Adevinta: $13 billion
Norwegian media group Schibsted spun out classifieds platform Adevinta as a stand-alone business in 2019. With online marketplaces in France, Spain, Brazil, and the U.K., Adevinta acquired eBay’s classifieds business for $9.2 billion in 2020.
During the initial spinout in 2019, Schibsted listed Adevinta on the Oslo Stock Exchange at a $6 billion valuation. In late 2023, news emerged that private equity firms Permira and Blackstone were leading a consortium to take Adevinta private in a $13 billion deal, which finally closed in May.
Smartsheet: $8.4 billion
After filing for IPO six years ago, enterprise software company Smartsheet is being taken private by Vista Equity Partners and Blackstone, offering shareholders $8.4 billion in cash. The Bellevue-based company achieved a market value of over $10 billion during the pandemic, surpassing its IPO valuation of $1.5 billion. With a strong performance in 2024, Smartsheet’s market cap rose to over $7 billion, leading to the acquisition bid by the two private equity firms.
