Blackstone, Vista Equity to buy Smartsheet in $8.4bn deal

Collaboration software maker Smartsheet rallied on Tuesday after agreeing to be bought by alternative asset manager Blackstone and global investment firm Vista Equity Partners in an $8.4bn an all-cash deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone and Vista will pay $56.50 per share in cash, which is a 41% premium to the volume-weighted average closing price for the 90-trading days ending on 17 July, the last full trading day before media reports of a possible transaction.

Smartsheet chief executive Mark Mader said: "For more than a decade, we have built a thriving community of employees, partners, and customers, each focused on building and benefiting from Smartsheet’s industry-leading work management platform. Our next phase of growth and customer success is underway, and we look forward to partnering with Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners to accelerate our vision of modernising work management for enterprises, globally.

"This transaction is a testament to our employees’ outstanding work in serving customers and partners, and building an enterprise-grade, market-leading platform. As we look to the future, we are confident that Blackstone and Vista’s expertise and resources will help us ensure Smartsheet remains a great place to work where our employees thrive, while driving innovation and delivering even greater value for customers and stakeholders."

The agreement includes a 45-day "go-shop" period during which Smartsheet is allowed to actively solicit other bidders.

At 1450 BST, the shares were up 6.1% at $55.24.