Buyout group Bain Capital is the frontrunner to acquire software company SoftWare One Holdings after other interested parties including rival private equity firm Apax Partners, dropped out of the race to acquire the Swiss firm, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as confirming that Bain is now in pole positions to strike a deal after first emerging as a bidder for the business in June.
According to a Reuters report back in October, SoftwareOne received at least four non-binding bid proposals as part of a strategic review of its operations, including from Bain and Apax.
Bain’s proposal valued SoftwareOne at up to CHF3.2bn ($3.55bn), in a range of 19.5-20.5 Swiss franc per share, according to a Reuters source at the time, although it is unclear whether the buyout firm is still prepared to agree a deal at that valuation after SoftWareOne last month revised downward its full-year 2023 revenue growth guidance to high single-digits, from double-digits.
