(Reuters) -Buyout firm Blackstone Inc agreed to purchase U.S. software provider Cvent Holding Corp in a deal valued at $4.6 billion, at a time when private equity firms are looking to scoop up technology companies for a bargain price.
A rout in tech stocks last year shrank company valuations, making them enticing targets for private equity suitors.
Tysons, Virginia-based Cvent’s shares, which fell about 34% last year, rose about 12% to $8.29 in trading before the bell on Tuesday.
Cvent, controlled by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners Management, said its shareholders would receive $8.50 per share, adding that a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will be a significant minority investor.
Reuters reported last month that Cvent had previously rejected a $3.9 billion acquisition offer from Blackstone.
The latest offer price, which gives Cvent an equity value at $4.15 billion, represents a premium of about 29% from Jan. 30, before media reports of a potential deal surfaced.
Vista acquired Cvent for $1.65 billion in 2016 and took it public at a $5.3 billion valuation in a merger with a blank-check acquisition company in 2021.
Rajeev Aggarwal, founder and chief executive of Cvent, said in November while the company is likely to take a hit from a potential recession, it also expected to win market share.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)