Shares of Workday soared roughly 20% before trading was halted on Thursday following a report that private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to acquire the human resources and finance software company in what could rank among the year’s largest technology buyouts.
The stock had climbed sharply on the news before a volatility halt paused trading, reflecting the scale of investor reaction to the prospect of Workday being taken private.
Workday, founded in 2005, provides cloud-based software for payroll, human resources and financial management used by thousands of large enterprises worldwide. The company has been navigating a tougher stretch, with its shares under pressure for much of the year amid concerns that advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt demand for traditional enterprise software.
Those fears have weighed on a swath of software companies as investors reassess how generative AI tools might reshape workflows and compress the value of established platforms. Workday’s slide left it as a potential target for buyers looking to acquire established, cash-generative businesses at discounted valuations.
A deal at Workday’s scale would represent a significant bet by Silver Lake, one of the most active technology-focused private equity firms, on the long-term resilience of enterprise software despite the AI-driven uncertainty that has unsettled investors weighing the timing of AI payoffs across the sector.
Silver Lake has a long history of large software and technology transactions, and a take-private of Workday would add to a wave of consolidation as buyout firms deploy capital into companies trading below recent highs.
Neither Workday nor Silver Lake has publicly confirmed the discussions, and the talks may not result in an agreement. Terms, including any potential purchase price, have not been disclosed.
The market reaction underscores how sensitive software valuations have become to both AI disruption narratives and dealmaking speculation. A confirmed acquisition would offer shareholders a premium after a difficult year while removing one of the sector’s larger names from public markets.
Investors will be watching for official statements from either company and any regulatory considerations that a transaction of this magnitude would attract in the coming weeks.