Private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to acquire Workday in a deal that would rank among the largest software buyouts in history, according to people familiar with the matter.

News of the talks sent Workday shares nearly 18% higher on Thursday.

Silver Lake and the human resources and financial management software company have held discussions about a potential deal in recent months, the people said. The talks are ongoing and there is no guarantee a deal will materialise, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.

The Pleasanton, California-based company had a market value of around US$43-billion before Reuters reported on the talks, which caused its shares to surge. The stock closed at $206.45 on Thursday, giving Workday a market value of around $51.1-billion. It eased by 3.8% on Friday.

Silver Lake could bring in additional investors to finance the deal, one of the people said. The private equity firm teamed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners for its roughly $55-billion take-private deal for videogame maker Electronic Arts last year.

Neither Silver Lake nor Workday immediately responded to requests for comment.

AI pressure

Prior to Thursday’s news, Workday shares had fallen about 15% this year, as investors questioned the durability of traditional software in an era of rapidly advancing AI. The stock was down more than 40% from its 2024 peak.

Private equity firms have largely stayed on the sidelines of large software buyouts this year as concerns over AI have made it harder to assess the future growth and value of traditional software companies.

Read: Software rout deepens as AI fears grip investors

That has contributed to a dearth of large software take-private deals this year. Hg Capital agreed in January to take financial software maker OneStream private for about $6.4-billion — one of the larger software buyouts announced this year.

A potential acquisition of Workday would be significantly larger, making it one of the biggest tests yet of private equity appetite for traditional software businesses as AI reshapes the industry.

The deal would also follow Thoma Bravo’s agreement to acquire payroll software provider Dayforce in a transaction valued at about $12.3-billion.

Silver Lake has a history of investing in technology and software companies, including computer maker Dell Technologies, cloud software company VMware, and experience-management software maker Qualtrics.

Founded in 2005 by former PeopleSoft executives Aneel Bhusri and David Duffield, Workday went public in 2012 and provides cloud-based software for human resources, payroll, finance, spending and planning. The company serves more than 11 500 customers globally and has offices in South Africa.

Read: IBM shares crash 25% as AI upends software spending

Bhusri returned as Workday’s chief executive in February, replacing Carl Eschenbach, as the company navigates growing pressure from AI on traditional business software.

Workday reported revenue of $9.6-billion in fiscal 2025, up 13%, while generating $2.9-billion in operating cash flow, up 19%. Revenue growth, however, has slowed from 16% the previous year. — Milana Vinn, with Abigail Summerville, (c) 2026 Reuters