Citrix announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which affiliates of  Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation will acquire Citrix in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.5 billion. The acquisition will take Citrix private as they focus on secure hybrid work.

The union will create one of the world’s largest software providers, serving 400,000 customers, including 98 percent of the Fortune 500, with 100 million users in 100 countries. Further, it will accelerate Citrix’s defined growth strategy and SaaS transition. The combined company will be positioned to provide complete, secure and optimized infrastructure for enterprise application and desktop delivery and data management to advance hybrid cloud IT strategies and meet the needs of the modern enterprise.

Vista and Evergreen intend to combine Citrix and TIBCO Software (one of Vista’s portfolio companies). TIBCO is a global leader in enterprise data management, empowering its customers to connect, unify, and confidently predict business outcomes. The combination brings together Citrix’s secure digital workspace and application delivery suite with TIBCO’s real-time intelligent data and analytics capabilities to empower customers and users with the secure application and information access and insights they need to accelerate digital transformation and navigate the hybrid workplace.

“Over the past three decades, Citrix has established itself as the clear leader in secure hybrid work. Our market-leading platform provides secure and reliable access to all of the applications and information employees need to get work done, wherever it needs to get done. By combining with TIBCO, we will expand this platform and the outcomes our customers achieve,” said Bob Calderoni, Chair of the Citrix Board of Directors and Interim Chief Executive Officer and President. “Together with TIBCO, we will be able to operate with greater scale and provide a larger customer base with a broader range of solutions to accelerate their digital transformations and enable them to deliver the future of hybrid work. As a private company, we will have increased financial and strategic flexibility to invest in high-growth opportunities, such as DaaS, and accelerate its ongoing cloud transition.”

Citrix and TIBCO provide mission-critical software and services to many the world’s most successful businesses, and we see tremendous value in combining their respective world-class offerings to help companies gather insight from the growing volumes of data generated by the hybrid work economy. Both businesses have now completed transitions to approximately 90% recurring revenue, poising the go-forward combined business to drive future growth,” said John Stalder, Managing Director at Vista. “We look forward to partnering with Evergreen and the Citrix and TIBCO teams to ensure this is a seamless transition for all stakeholders.”“

We have long appreciated the mission-critical role that Citrix plays in keeping workforces connected,” said Managing Partner Jesse Cohn and Senior Portfolio Manager Jason Genrich on behalf of Evergreen and Elliott. “Having first invested in Citrix more than six years ago, we have a deep understanding of its unique strengths and significant potential as a private company. We look forward to partnering with Vista and working closely with Citrix’s management team and its talented employees to expand its capabilities and help drive its next phase of growth.”