Silver Lake eyes Workday in $43Bn buyout
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Silver Lake is in preliminary talks to acquire Workday in a deal that would value the human resources and financial management software provider at approximately $43 billion, which would rank among the largest software buyouts on record.
The discussions are ongoing and no agreement has been reached. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
Silver Lake targets Workday in take-private talks
Workday provides cloud-based human resources (HR) and financial management software to enterprises globally, competing with SAP SuccessFactors and Oracle HCM in the corporate workforce and finance platform market.
A $43 billion deal would make the potential Silver Lake acquisition one of the largest software take-privates in private equity history, trailing only Silver Lake’s own $55 billion purchase of Electronic Arts, which closed in August 2026.
According to a report from Reuters, Silver Lake and Workday have been in contact about a potential deal for several months, and there is no guarantee the talks will result in a transaction.
Declining valuation opens a private equity window
Workday shares have declined approximately 15% year-to-date and more than 40% from their 2024 peak, as investors question the long-term competitiveness of traditional enterprise software platforms against AI-native rivals.
Silver Lake has deep experience taking large-cap technology companies private, closing the $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners on August 4, 2026.
Silver Lake may seek additional co-investors to help fund the transaction, which at $43 billion would require significant equity and debt financing, according to people familiar with the matter.
A Silver Lake acquisition of Workday would represent one of the most significant private equity bets on enterprise resource planning software, a sector under pressure to demonstrate relevance alongside AI-powered competitors including Salesforce and Microsoft.
For the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, a Workday take-private could affect pricing and roadmap continuity for the thousands of HR and payroll outsourcing firms that rely on Workday’s platform to deliver services to clients.
Silver Lake’s track record of value creation in technology, including its $55 billion Electronic Arts deal, suggests the firm sees potential in restructuring and repositioning Workday’s go-to-market strategy under private ownership.
If completed, the acquisition would remove Workday from public markets, insulating it from quarterly earnings pressure while Silver Lake works to expand its AI capabilities and cross-selling potential across the firm’s broader technology portfolio.
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