Highlights:

  • Over 13 million professionals use the Smartsheet platform to manage their daily tasks.
  • Over the last 24 months, Smartsheet’s product development roadmap has made artificial intelligence a top priority.

Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners acquired Smartsheet Inc. in a deal worth USD 8.4 billion. The acquiree is a popular work management platform.

Investors in the software company are expected to get USD 56.50 in cash for each share they own. If the volume-weighted average stock price of Smartsheet over the previous ninety days is checked, it’ll reveal 41% premium. The purchase proposal is expected: In July, the first rumors about Smartsheet’s attempt to solicit a buyout proposal surfaced.

Over 13 million professionals use the Smartsheet platform to manage their daily tasks. It is based on a project management application that enables managers to keep track of the unfinished work, due dates, and associated information for each task on their teams. It can present that data as a spreadsheet or as visualizations, like a timeline view that arranges tasks according to priority.

Also available to customers are a number of time-saving tools. One such feature enables the development of automated processes that can carry out easy activities devoid of human intervention. For instance, a manager could set up Smartsheet to alert help desk staff members when a high-priority technical support case is allocated to them.

The organization has shifted its emphasis over time from work management to several other areas. Its platform has a functionality that allows company data to be automatically synced to and from other services. Low-code development tool is another feature that facilitates users to develop basic commercial apps.

Over the last 24 months, Smartsheet’s product development roadmap has made artificial intelligence a top priority. The company introduced a solution in July of last year that uses natural language cues to enable employees to convert business data into visualizations. Long texts can be automatically summarized by another integrated AI tool.

Smartsheet reported USD 276.4 million in revenue last quarter, a 17% increase compared to the previous year. During the same period, the number of organizations spending over USD one million annually on its platform surged 50% to 77. Its customer base includes over 90% of the Fortune 500, as well as numerous other companies.

Smartsheet’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Mader said, “We are confident that Blackstone and Vista’s expertise and resources will help us ensure Smartsheet remains a great place to work where our employees thrive, while driving innovation and delivering even greater value for customers and stakeholders.”

Blackstone and Vista’s takeover offer for Smartsheet includes a forty-five-day go-shop period. The software developer can look for other proposals until November 8th. By February of next year, Smartsheet plans to go private if no larger offer materializes and the remaining closing conditions of the deal are fulfilled.