Apptio increases to $ 1.94 billion private with Vista Equity Partners

(Reuters) – Apptio Software Publisher Inc (APTI.O) said Sunday he agreed to be bought out by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for $ 1.94 billion in cash two years after its IPO.

Vista will take the company privately for $ 38 per share, a premium of approximately 53% over the last closing of Apptio shares.

The deal would help the company bring its products to market more quickly, Apptio Co-Founder and CEO Sunny Gupta told Reuters.

"In private construction, we are looking to take advantage of Vista's game book," Gupta said. "They seem to be very determined to accelerate the cycle of innovation of our products for our customers."

Apptio, whose products include hybrid and cloud-based business management software, was founded in 2007 and went public in September 2016 at $ 16 per share.

Vista, whose private equity portfolio consisted primarily of software companies, sold marketing software company Marketo to Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) for $ 4.75 billion in September.

The Apptio agreement includes a 30-day "go-shop" period, which allows Apptio's board of directors and advisers to consider alternative offers, the company said.

Before accepting Vista, Apptio had received many offers from private and strategic investors before committing, Gupta said. He will remain CEO of Apptio after the transaction. Its headquarters will remain in Bellevue, Washington State.

The company's board of directors has approved the deal, which is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2019, he said.

Apptio posted a quarterly surprise-adjusted profit in August, a month before the stock peaked at $ 41.23.

Qatalyst Partners served as financial advisor to Apptio, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was its legal advisor. Kirkland & Ellis LLP was Vista's legal advisor.

The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the transaction.