British software company Blue Prism snapped up by private equity for £1.1bn

Robotics and process automation specialists will then combine with Vista's TIBCO business

British software firm Blue Prism has agreed to a £1.1bn takeover by private equity group Vista Equity Partners.

Blue Prism, which specialises in robotics and automation software, is currently publicly traded and said Vista would pay each shareholder £11.25 per share, a 35 per cent premium to the company's last closing price of £8.32.

Subject to shareholder agreement, Vista then intends to integrate Blue Prism with its data analytics firm TIBCO - which the private equity firm claims will "yield significant synergies and market differentiation".

"Combining with Vista and TIBCO will ensure we remain at the forefront of the next generation of intelligent automation," Jason Kingdon, chairman and CEO of Blue Prism, said.

"We can expand the range of products we offer our customers, with TIBCO's global footprint and technologies; and, as a privately owned company, we will also have greater access to capital to pursue new growth opportunities via product investment and other potential M&A."

Blue Prism was founded in 2001 and became AIM listed in 2016. It is expected to reach sales of £160m this year, with the announcement following a strategic review at the company which explored potential sale options.

The company also plans to separate the chairman and CEO position as part of the sale and is looking to appoint a new CEO.

It follows other notable private equity acquisitions of tech companies recently, including Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and KKR's $5.3bn purchase of Cloudera and the sale of Proofpoint to Thoma Bravo for $12.3bn.

Global investment firm Vista had more than $81bn in assets under management as of June 30 and invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit, and public equity strategies.

Monti Saroya, senior managing director at Vista and co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund said: "Vista is a leading investor in Robotic Process Automation technologies and views the acquisition of Blue Prism and combination with TIBCO as an exciting and transformational moment for the growth of enterprise-grade Intelligent Automation and Robotic Process Automation."