Vista is getting ready to buy Apptio software for $ 1.9 billion

The purchase price would be below the record high of $ 41.2 recorded by Apptio about two months ago. Its shares have recently declined as part of a larger decline in technology stocks. At the end of October, Apptio announced third-quarter results that included lower than expected billings, putting additional pressure on its shares.

Apptio provides tools to help business technology buyers keep track of the software and services they use to better manage their costs. The company claims that its customers, including Unilever PLC,

JPMorgan Chase

& Co. and

Cisco Systems
Inc.

Bellevue, Washington, went public two years ago, raising about $ 96 million to $ 16 per share.

Co-founder and CEO Sunny Gupta and her family are the main shareholders of Apptio. They collectively hold shares that give them more than 46% of the voting rights, according to a proxy statement filed by the company in April. Since then, Apptio has converted into common shares the class of its shares that had more voting rights, thereby reducing Mr. Gupta's control. Some of the venture capital firms that initially supported Apptio, including the Madrona Venture Group, sold significant holdings this year.

The transaction comes against a backdrop of market volatility, coupled with technology-driven private equity firms launching an avalanche of capital. Vista, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is raising its latest flagship product, Vista Equity Partners VII Fund LP, to raise $ 16 billion for business software transactions. It raised $ 11.4 billion to meet this goal in late September, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The purchase of Apptio would be Vista's first private transaction this year, but the firm is no stranger to buying on the public market. Last year, it disbursed about $ 1.55 billion for the purchase of software and the education division of the consulting company Advisory Board Co., making the company private

UnitedHealth Group
Inc.

who bought his health care unit.

Two years ago, Vista privatized marketing services provider Marketo Inc. for about $ 1.79 billion. He sold Marketo to

Adobe
Inc.

for $ 4.75 billion this year. Vista estimates that the sale of advertising software provider Mediaocean LLC could bring him more than $ 1.5 billion, the newspaper reported.