Private equity and venture capital investments in the enterprise software sector declined almost 51% year over year in 2023, reaching $42.78 billion, the lowest total value since at least 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
The number of deals also dropped, falling to 1,799 from 2,713 a year prior.
Enterprise software refers to software that streamlines ordering, purchasing, inventory management, accounting, and sales and marketing analysis.
Transaction deal value and volume in the enterprise sector have been on a downward trajectory since 2021. The decline has been driven by publicly listed software company valuations, which fell due to high interest rates. Interest rate increases can impact valuations by increasing the cost of debt and by pulling capital out of stocks and into high-yielding instruments, among other things.
The gap in valuations between buyers and sellers of private equity-backed software assets hindered deal closures, "especially for larger deals where debt financing is integral," said Simon Pearson, managing director of technology and services at Baird Global Investment Banking.
Deals in the sector appear to be picking up, based on the second quarter to April 23. During the period, private equity-backed investments — including whole company and minority stake acquisitions, asset deals, and funding rounds — totaled $2.69 billion, compared to $5.99 billion in the full second quarter of 2023.
There have been 62 announced deals so far in the second quarter, or about 13% of the deal count in the same period in 2023.
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The largest private equity-backed deal in the enterprise software sector in 2023 was the majority stake acquisition of Qualtrics International Inc. for roughly $10.45 billion by an investor group that included Silver Lake Technology Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The next largest deal was the $4.5 billion proposal made by Clearlake Capital Group LP to acquire the remaining majority stake of Blackbaud Inc. On March 27, Blackbaud board members rejected the proposal, deeming it an undervaluation of the company. Clearlake submitted a revised proposal April 15 to acquire all shares of Blackbaud at an increased price of $80 per share.
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