Narayan AmmachchiU.S. IT, technology, enterprise solutions provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has put its HP Software assets up for sale in a deal that could fetch between US$8 billion and US$10 billion.
According to Reuters, private equity firm Thoma Bravo is bidding the most and is currently in talks with HPE’s top leadership, though no deal is yet certain. Other companies rumored to have bid for HP Software include Vista Equity Partners Management LLC, Carlyle Group LP, and TPG Capital LP.
HPE’s software portfolio consists largely of assets from its US$10.3 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011 and its US$4.5 billion acquisition of Mercury Interactive in 2006. Other products in the portfolio include Vertica, a big data analytics platform, and ArcSight, a cybersecurity firm.
The Silicon Valley firm, which slashed thousands of jobs last year, is trying to focus on networking, storage, data centers, and related technology services, rather than software development.
Thoma Bravo owns several software companies, including Dynatrace LLC and Compuware Corp, which could produce cost savings and efficiencies if combined with some of HPE’s software assets.
HP Software posted US$3.6 billion in revenue last year, with the division blaming changing technology trends for the 8% decline in earnings.
HPE will however not sell all its software assets. Some reports say it might retain software businesses linked with parts of customers’ key technology infrastructure—such as software-defined networking.
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