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☆ IBM to acquire HashiCorp in $6.4 billion deal, reports another revenue miss
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that IBM was getting close to acquiring HashiCorp, sending shares upward. In 2021 HashiCorp shares started trading on the Nasdaq. HashiCorp shares moved 4% higher in extended trading following the acquisition announcement. Revenue from software, at $5.90 billion, increased about 6% and was below the $5.96 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. Notwithstanding the after-hours move, IBM shares are up about 13% so far this year, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which is up 6% over the same period.

Persons: Arvind Krishna, Dave McJannet, Rob Thomas, IBM's, HashiCorp Organizations: Economic, IBM, HashiCorp, Street Journal, Bloomberg, Linux, Nasdaq, LSEG, StreetAccount, Weather Company, Francisco Partners Locations: Davos, Switzerland

☆ IBM is slashing jobs in marketing and communications
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

POLAND - 2023/09/11: In this photo illustration, IBM logo seen displayed on a smartphone with Artifical Intelligence (AI) symbols in the background. IBM on Tuesday told employees in its marketing and communications division that it's slashing the size of its staff, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. IBM said on its earnings call in January of last year that it was cutting 3,900 positions. In May, IBM announced WatsonX, billed as a development studio for companies to "train, tune and deploy" machine-learning models. Nearly two years ago, IBM sold its Watson Health unit for an undisclosed amount to private equity firm Francisco Partners.

Persons: Jonathan Adashek, hasn't, didn't, Arvind Krishna, James Kavanaugh, Watson, Krishna Organizations: IBM, Artifical Intelligence, CNBC, Unity, Microsoft, Google, Health, Francisco Partners Locations: POLAND

☆ 'We're modeling businesses will get worse before they get better', says Francisco CEO Dipanjan Deb
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'We're modeling businesses will get worse before they get better', says Francisco CEO Dipanjan DebDipanjan Deb, Francisco Partners Co-Founder & CEO, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk the state of the M&A market, his investing playbook, lessons learned since the pandemic and more.

Persons: Francisco, Dipanjan Deb Dipanjan Deb Organizations: Francisco Partners

Jefferies analysts wrote in a note the Federal Reserve putting the brakes on interest rate hikes has given acquirers more certainty around their funding costs, helping dealmaking. Cisco's deal valued Splunk at 7 times projected 12-month revenue, according to Jefferies. "We note that the typical security company with 20% growth trades at about 7 times (sales)," BTIG analysts wrote in a note last week. Private software companies may also be more receptive to takeovers. "A tidal wave of software M&A (is) on the horizon," Wedbush analysts wrote in a note last week.

Persons: Chuck Robbins, David Chen, Morgan Stanley, Chen, Jefferies, Keith Skirbe, Houlihan Lokey's, Milana Vinn, Anirban Sen, Anna Driver Organizations: Cisco Systems, Cisco, Crowdstrike Holdings, Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, Francisco Partners, TPG Inc, Federal Reserve, IBM, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ IBM selling The Weather Channel and the rest of its weather business
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

IBM said Tuesday it's selling its weather unit, including The Weather Channel mobile app and websites, Weather.com, Weather Underground and Storm Radar. IBM will sell The Weather Company and its assets to Francisco Partners, a tech-focused private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, IBM will retain access to the company's weather data, which it uses to power some of the artificial intelligence models it sells to enterprise clients. One of those bets is Watsonx, the enterprise AI development tool IBM announced in May that's slated to debut in the third quarter. The platform includes a feature for AI-generated code, an AI governance toolkit, and a library of thousands of large-scale AI models, trained on language, geospatial data, IT events and The Weather Company's weather data, which IBM will continue to use.

Persons: that's Organizations: IBM, The Weather Channel, Storm Radar, Weather Company, Francisco Partners

☆ IBM sells weather business to private equity firm Francisco Partners
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - International Business Machines (IBM.N) has agreed to sell its weather business to private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum, the technology services giant said on Tuesday. IBM will retain its sustainability software business. The Big Blue said Tuesday it plans to continue using The Weather Company's weather data for its software offerings focused on environmental insights. Francisco Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deal with Francisco Partners is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to regulatory approval.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Rob Thomas, Arsheeya, Pooja Desai Organizations: IBM, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Business Machines, Francisco Partners, Storm, NASA, Street Journal, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Watsonx, Bengaluru

☆ Private equity bites off mostly what it can chew
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private equity firms notched nearly $300 billion of acquisitions worldwide through Aug. 15, according to Dealogic data. Deals in the $1 billion to $5 billion range are running closest to the same pace as 2022. STG, for example, secured a loan to value of more than 40% from private lenders. With capital tighter, it’s easy to understand why buyout firms are pursuing humbler deals more likely to exceed the minimum returns investors expect. GTCR’s plan to buy 55% of Worldpay at a $17.5 billion valuation requires an equity check equivalent to 15% of the buyout firm’s assets.

Persons: Simon & Schuster, STG, Clayton, Rice, Banks, Ares Capital’s, hasn’t, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: KKR, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Avid Technology, GTCR, TPG, Francisco Partners, Bain Consulting, Thomson, & $ Locations: New York, U.S, can’t, Dubilier

☆ The scientist behind IBM Watson has raised $60 million for his AI startup in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

David Ferrucci, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who led the team that created IBM Watson , has raised nearly $60 million for his AI startup called Elemental Cognition, according to a regulatory filing. The filing on Thursday says the company sold $59.95 million worth of equity to 17 investors and plans to raise another $5.75 million. Ferrucci led IBM Watson between 2006 and the end of 2012, during which time the computer system famously won "Jeopardy!" He then ran AI research for Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds. In January of last year, the company sold its Watson Health unit for an undisclosed amount to private equity firm Francisco Partners.

Persons: David Ferrucci, Watson, Cora, Ferrucci, IBM Watson, David Shepler, Eric Brown, Mike Barborak, Jim Breyer, Sam Palmisano, Greg Jensen, Bridgewater's, Geoff Yang, OpenAI's Organizations: IBM, Bridgewater Associates, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bridgewater, Breyer Capital, Facebook, Redpoint Ventures, CNBC, Investors, Health, Francisco Partners Locations: New York, New, Helmsley, guardrails, China

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Symphony Technology Group (STG) and Francisco Partners are among the private equity firms competing to acquire media editing software maker Avid Technology Inc (AVID.O), according to people familiar with the matter. Avid, Goldman and Francisco Partners declined to comment. Palo Alto-based STG is a mid-market private equity firm focused on technology investments. Francisco Partners is a prolific tech investor, which has raised over $45 billion to date. Earlier this week, Francisco Partners teamed up with TPG Inc (TPG.O) to acquire New Relic (NEWR.N) for $6.5 billion.

Persons: Goldman, STG, Palo, Francisco, Milana Vinn, Anirban Sen, Sharon Singleton, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Symphony Technology, Francisco Partners, Avid Technology Inc, Avid, Goldman Sachs, Reuters, Momentive, Inc, TPG Inc, Impactive, Thomson Locations: Burlington , Massachusetts, Palo Alto, New York

☆ Francisco Partners & TPG to take New Relic private in $6 billion all-cash deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A consortium led by Francisco Partners and private equity group TPG will take software provider New Relic private in an all-cash, $87-a-share offer that values the company at nearly $6.5 billion, the company announced Monday. Reuters reported in May that Francisco Partners and TPG had ended deal talks after failing to secure enough debt financing to meet New Relic's desired valuation. Since that report, the private equity groups were able to obtain financing and meet New Relic's valuation requirements. Under the terms of the deal, New Relic will have a 45-day "go-shop" period, during which it can entertain offers from other qualified bidders. Francisco Partners is a technology-focused private equity firm with past investments in Barracuda Networks, On Semiconductor , and K2.

Persons: Lew Cirne, Jana, Zscaler Organizations: Francisco Partners, TPG, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, New, Jana Partners, Barracuda Networks, Semiconductor, Sumo Logic

July 31 (Reuters) - New Relic (NEWR.N) said it has agreed to be taken private by TPG (TPG.O) and Francisco Partners in a $6.5 billion all-cash deal amid stiff competition in the application performance monitoring space from rival software companies Datadog and Dynatrace. New Relic's shares rose about 13% to $83.85 on Monday following the deal involving the private equity firms. New Relic reported annual revenue growth of about 18% compared with Dynatrace's (DT.N) 25% jump. New Relic on Monday reported first-quarter revenue of $242.6 million, compared with analysts' estimates of $239.2 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Qatalyst Partners is the company's financial adviser, while Morgan Stanley is the lead financial adviser for Francisco Partners and TPG.

Persons: Kingsley Crane, Genuity, Jana, Morgan Stanley, Akash Sriram, Zaheer Kachwala, Sriraj Kalluvila, Shounak Organizations: TPG, Francisco Partners, Francisco, New, Jana Partners, Eminence Capital, Qatalyst, Thomson Locations: ., Bengaluru

☆ TPG to buy Forcepoint unit from Francisco Partners
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 10 (Reuters) - Forcepoint said on Monday buyout firm TPG (TPG.O) would purchase its government cybersecurity business from parent Francisco Partners. The deal was for $2.45 billion, the Wall Street Journal had reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the matter. Forcepoint, TPG and Francisco did not immediately respond to requests for details on the deal value. The unit, Forcepoint Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure (G2CI), is focused on critical infrastructure for U.S. government and federal agencies. Francisco, which bought Forcepoint from Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) in 2021, will retain a minority stake in G2CI and will continue as a controlling shareholder in Forcepoint Commercial business, the software company said.

Persons: Forcepoint, Francisco, Samrhitha, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: TPG, Francisco Partners, Wall Street Journal, Forcepoint Global, Raytheon Technologies, Forcepoint, Thomson Locations: G2CI, Bengaluru

☆ TPG to buy Forcepoint unit from Francisco Partners for $2.45 billion, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 9 (Reuters) - Buyout house TPG is buying a business unit of software provider Forcepoint for $2.45 billion from Francisco Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday citing people familiar with the matter. TPG is acquiring Forcepoint's government cybersecurity business, known as Forcepoint Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure, according to the report. TPG and Francisco Partners declined to comment while Forcepoint did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint develops and creates computer security software, data protection, and firewall solutions. Forcepoint is exploring sale of its governments security unit for more than $2 billion as part of its strategy to focus on growing its commercial business, sources told Reuters in April.

Persons: Francisco, Forcepoint, Akanksha, Jacqueline Wong, Diane Craft Organizations: TPG, Francisco Partners, Wall Street, Forcepoint Global, Raytheon Technologies, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Austin , Texas, Bengaluru

☆ TPG to Buy Forcepoint Unit From Francisco Partners for $2.45 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Maria Armental | Laura Kreutzer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Organizations: Wall Street

June 27 (Reuters) - Private equity firm THL Partners is exploring a sale of Nextech Systems LLC that could value the provider of healthcare software at around $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. THL is working with investment bank William Blair on a sale process for Nextech that has attracted other private equity firms and is at an advanced stage, the sources said. THL Partners, Nextech and William Blair did not respond to requests for comment. Based in Tampa, Florida, Nextech provides software solutions for electronic medical record tracking, healthcare payments and practice management. THL acquired Nextech in 2019 from Francisco Partners, another buyout firm, for more than $500 million.

Persons: William Blair, THL, Milana Vinn, Matthew Lewis Organizations: THL Partners, Nextech Systems, Francisco Partners, Thomson Locations: Tampa , Florida, New York

☆ Exclusive: Software company Enfusion draws takeover interest from private equity, Irenic Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Software company Enfusion Inc (ENFN.N) is attracting takeover interest from private equity firms and strategic buyers, several people familiar with the matter said. Enfusion's management has been approached in recent months by Francisco Partners, Vista Equity Partners and investment firm Irenic Capital Management, said the sources who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The company has experienced turbulence in the executive ranks, with its chief executive officer and chief financial officer resigning just months apart from one another last year. The name of the private equity partner could not be learned. Irenic, which was co-founded by Elliott Management veteran Adam Katz and former Indaba Capital partner Andy Dodge, recently worked with private equity giant Apollo Global Management to buy industrial parts manufacturer Arconic.

Persons: Irenic, Oleg Movchan, Enfusion, Adam Katz, Andy Dodge, Katz, Dodge, Elliott, Deutsche Boerse, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Nick Zieminski Organizations: YORK, Enfusion Inc, Francisco Partners, Vista Equity Partners, Irenic Capital Management, Francisco, Elliott Management, Indaba, Apollo Global Management, Arconic, Harvard, Nasdaq, Deutsche, Svea, Thomson Locations: Vista

☆ Brookfield buys payments firm Network International for $2.76 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 9 (Reuters) - Canada's Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) said on Friday it would buy payments provider Network International (NETW.L) for 2.2 billion pounds ($2.76 billion) in cash, as it expands its payments business in the Middle East and Africa. The Canadian firm said Network directors intended to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the deal. Brookfield, which has over $5 billion in assets under management in the Middle East, last year bought a 60% stake in Magnati, the payments business of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD). The investment firm said the deal would be financed by a combination of equity investment, as part of which Brookfield Business Partners expects to invest up to about $150 million. Network International, whose top investors include Capital Research and Mastercard UK, listed in London in April 2019 at an initial public offering price of 435 pence a share.

Persons: Brookfield, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Eva Mathews, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Jason Neely Organizations: Brookfield Asset Management, Network, United, Capital, Francisco Partners, Brookfield, Abu Dhabi Bank, Brookfield Business Partners, Network International, Capital Research, Mastercard, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, East, Africa, United Arab Emirates, Magnati, London, Bengaluru

☆ Brookfield gets some M&A help from Gulf friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) has won its payments race. The Canadian investment group’s 2.2 billion pound bid for London-listed payments provider Network International (NETW.L) was enough to see off a rival pitch from CVC and Francisco Partners. They’ve also endorsed a plan to merge Dubai-based Network International with domestic peer Magnati, a former unit of FAB. If Network International alone can grow revenues at a 15% annual clip and reach a margin of 44% from the current 41%, EBITDA could hit $388 million by 2028. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Brookfield, They’ve, EBITDA, Pamela Barbaglia, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Brookfield Asset Management, London, Network, Francisco Partners, Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, FAB, ACI, Brookfield, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Dubai

The demise of the deal negotiations underscores the challenges facing private equity firms seeking to put together leveraged buyouts. New Relic has been negotiating with potential acquirers since last year, Reuters has reported, and it's possible that deal talks resume some time in the future, the sources added. New Relic and Francisco Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while TPG declined to comment. San Francisco-based New Relic develops cloud-based software to help websites and application owners track the performance of their services. New Relic has previously been targeted by several activist hedge funds including Jana Partners, Engaged Capital and Eminence Capital.

☆ TPG, Francisco Partners in talks to buy analytics firm New Relic - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - Private-equity giants Francisco Partners and TPG (TPG.O) are jointly planning a bid of more than $5 billion to acquire data analytics company New Relic (NEWR.N), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Reuters was the first to report in July that the U.S. business software company was preparing to explore a potential sale following interest from private equity firms. The San Francisco-based company had a market capitalization of roughly $5.78 billion, as of Wednesday's close. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Francisco Partners and TPG declined to comment. New Relic develops cloud-based software to help websites and application owners track the performance of their services.

☆ IBM takes another shot at Watson as A.I. boom picks up steam
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

About 15 months ago, IBM sold its Watson Health unit for an undisclosed amount to private equity firm Francisco Partners. Now, Watson has given way to WatsonX, and IBM is trying to ride the latest boom in AI. The platform includes a feature for AI-generated code, an AI governance toolkit, and a library of thousands of large-scale AI models, trained on language, geospatial data, IT events and code, according to a release. IBM is partnering with HuggingFace, the buzzy AI startup and open source platform that reached a $2 billion valuation last year. "We allow an enterprise to use their own code to adapt the model to how they want to run their playbooks and their code," Krishna said.

☆ A new book by a Pulitzer Prize winner unsuccessfully tries to take down the private equity industry and fixates on Leon Black. Here's what it gets wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jonathan A. Knee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The economic and political influence of the private equity sector has exploded in the last 20 years. It's true that few topics have attracted greater attention from not only crusading journalists but serious academics than the impact of private equity ownership. This supports their belief that private equity firms "carry very little risk if the company fails." This view of a "typical" private equity deal is simply untrue: Even back in 2005, the average loan-to-value percentage for new private equity deals was 68% — firms already contributed over 30% in equity to the deals not under 10% as claimed. 'Smart buyer, dumb seller'One of the important developments in private equity of the last decades has been the emergence of major private funds focused on technology investing.

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Cybersecurity firm Forcepoint is exploring a sale of its government security unit for more than $2 billion, five people familiar with the matter said. Forcepoint is looking to offload the unit as part of its strategy to focus on growing its commercial business, which caters to large corporations, the sources added. Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint develops and creates computer security software, data protection, and firewall solutions. Last year, Forcepoint won an $89 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide software solutions that would help monitor user activity. Forcepoint also counts the likes of International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) as customers.

☆ IBM earnings top estimates as margins expand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna appears on a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, 2023. IBM issued stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Wednesday even as the technology and consulting company reported disappointing revenue. IBM's consulting unit delivered $4.96 billion in revenue, up almost 3% but lower than the StreetAccount consensus of $5.01 billion. During the quarter, IBM said its technology was powering artificial intelligence-powered commentary on videos in the Masters Tournament golf app. WATCH: Technology is a deflationary answer to today's macro struggles, says IBM CEO Arvind Krishna

☆ UK's THG gets buyout proposal from Apollo, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away, the British company said. Oil services company John Wood Group (WG.L) said on Monday it is engaging with Apollo over a possible 1.66 billion-pound offer, while CVC Capital and Francisco Partners have tabled a 2.1 billion-pound takeover bid for payments provider Network International (NETW.L). Last week, EQT entered talks with veterinary pharma group Dechra (DPH.L) over a 4.63 billion-pound deal. THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, is set to publish full-year results on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8063 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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