Avalara is about to go private in an $8.4 billion deal with Vista Equity.

Aug 8 (Reuters) – Avalara Inc said on Monday it had agreed to buy the automation software platform from private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in a deal including debt for $8.4 billion.

Private equity firms have recently stepped up deal activity as companies across the sector have seen their valuations fall due to high inflation and a sell-off caused by tightening monetary policy.

In the first half of the year, PE firms were the main drivers of global deals despite overall M&A hitting roadblocks. Read more

Vista’s $93.50 offer was down nearly 4% in premarket trading, indicating a 2% decline for Avalara’s stock last close.

However, the price marked a 27% premium to the close on July 6, after which it rallied nearly 30% on media reports of potential arrests.

In the year Founded in 2004, Avalara operates a cloud-based platform that helps with tax compliance. The Seattle-based company counts Pinterest ( PINS.N ), Zillow Group ( ZG.O ) and Roku Inc among its clients.

Goldman Sachs & Co. advised Avalara on the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

Vista, which focuses on investments in technology and business software companies, had nearly $96 billion in assets under management as of March 31.

In January, the company partnered with an activist investment firm for a $16.5 billion purchase of software company Citrix Systems Inc ( CTXS.O ).

Reporting by Niket Nishant and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Vinay Dwivedi and Shailesh Kuber

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.