Workday Surges 18% on Silver Lake Takeover Report
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- Workday shares popped more than 18% after Reuters reported Silver Lake is in talks to acquire the HR software maker, with the stock halted multiple times in late afternoon trading.
- Workday's market value last topped $50 billion intraday following the Reuters report, which cited sources familiar with the matter.
- Silver Lake's acquisition discussions with Workday have been ongoing in recent months, per Reuters; neither Workday nor Silver Lake responded to CNBC's request for comment.
- Aneel Bhusri was renamed Workday CEO in March after Carl Eschenbach stepped down, with Bhusri having held prior stints as CEO and co-CEO.
- Brent Thill, an analyst, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" that Bhusri and Silver Lake's Egon Durban "know each other well through many connections," making a deal plausible.
- Workday shares remain down 7% year to date despite rebounding from a recent selloff driven by fears that AI tools could disrupt software business models.
- Workday posted better-than-expected results in May and raised its forecast, citing AI tailwinds.
Why it matters: A Silver Lake takeover at a $50 billion-plus valuation would test private equity's appetite for a large-cap software deal at a moment when AI disruption fears have hammered the sector. The rumored connection between Bhusri and Silver Lake's Egon Durban gives the talks a credible foundation, and a successful deal could mark a turning point in software M&A after months of valuation compression.
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