Silver Lake is planning to combine French software businesses Cegid and Silae in a transaction that would create a European technology group valued at more than €10bn, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The combined business is expected to generate approximately €1.6bn in annual revenue from accounting, human resources and other enterprise software services.
Silver Lake is expected to hold between 66% and 75% of the enlarged company following the transaction. The deal will not generate an immediate return of capital for Silver Lake or minority investors in either business.
Silver Lake has backed Cegid since 2016 and Silae since 2020. Christian Lucas, the firm’s Europe-based managing partner who has overseen both investments, is expected to become chairman of the combined company.
The merger comes as private equity investors reassess the outlook for software businesses acquired at high valuations, following rapid advances in AI that have raised questions over the durability of some established software models.
Software companies have historically been popular buyout targets because of their recurring revenues and predictable cash flows. However, the arrival of increasingly capable AI agents earlier this year triggered a sharp sell-off in listed software stocks and contributed to a slowdown in M&A activity, making it more difficult for investors to establish long-term valuations.
For Silver Lake, combining Cegid and Silae would provide an opportunity to pool data and integrate technology platforms while creating greater scale for investment in AI-enabled products.
The transaction also reflects a broader ambition to create a sizeable European software champion capable of competing more effectively with larger US technology companies. Cegid already operates across 15 countries and, like other European software groups, has expanded through acquisitions.
A larger combined platform could also help address the companies’ debt burdens by creating opportunities for greater operating efficiency.
Cegid’s leverage has come under scrutiny following a series of debt-funded acquisitions. S&P Global downgraded the company’s credit rating this year, citing persistently high credit ratios following rapid acquisition activity.
Cegid raised more than €1.1bn of debt in 2026 to finance its acquisition of fintech company Shine, after undertaking further debt-funded transactions in 2024 and 2025. The company also borrowed €1.1bn in 2023 to fund a dividend payment to its owners.
S&P estimated that the Shine transaction left Cegid with debt equivalent to approximately 10.5 times EBITDA, although it expects the company’s strong cash generation to support a reduction in leverage next year. A person close to Silver Lake disputed that assessment, putting Cegid’s leverage at between five and six times EBITDA.
