Vista Equity Partners buying Tibco Software for $4.3 billion

Tibco Software Inc., a maker of software for businesses, agreed to be bought by Vista Equity Partners for about $4.3 billion in the biggest U.S. technology buyout this year.

Tibco stockholders will get $24 in cash a share, the Palo Alto company said Monday. That represents a 23% premium over the shares’ closing price of $19.51 on Friday. The purchase price includes debt, which was about $19.8 million as of Aug. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The software maker had been pitching its business to potential buyers including private equity firms this month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Tibco had begun a strategic review of the company’s options after activist investor Praesidium Investment Management Co., the company’s sixth-largest shareholder, sent a letter to the board Aug. 12 seeking a sale.

“It’s a good exit path from the current situation,” said Steven Koenig, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. The company was in a difficult situation with a deteriorating market position, he said.

Tibco shares rose $4.14, or 21.2%, to $23.65 on Monday.

The deal’s value surpasses the $2.5 billion that private equity firm Thoma Bravo agreed to pay for Compuware Corp. this month, the previous largest buyout of a publicly traded tech company this year according to data compiled by Bloomberg.