Vista Equity Partners has closed a $5.6bn single-asset continuation fund to retain ownership of Cloud Software Group – parent of Citrix and Tibco – marking one of the largest such transactions to date, according a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that the deal includes $2.7bn in fresh capital from secondary investors and $2.2bn from existing Vista flagship funds (Fund VII and Fund VIII), enabling Vista to hold onto the asset longer in the face of a sluggish M&A and IPO market.
Cloud Software Group, formed through Vista’s $16.5bn mega buyout of Citrix and Tibco in 2022, will move into the continuation vehicle at a 5% discount to its Q1 2024 valuation. Investors in Vista’s Fund V, which originally held the asset, were offered a 4.1x multiple if they chose liquidity over rollover.
Coller Capital is among the new investors backing the continuation fund, though it has not publicly commented.
With M&A activity still subdued and traditional exits stalled, continuation funds are surging in popularity, with sponsor-led secondaries projected to surpass $75bn in 2025, up from $25 billion in Q1 alone, per PJT Partners.
