Vista Equity Partners Is Exploring a Deal for Coupa Software

Michelle F. Davis, Davide Scigliuzzo and Katie Roof, Bloomberg News

Robert Frederick Smith, billionaire and chairman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Vista Equity Partners, gestures as he speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. World leaders, influential executives, bankers and policy makers attend the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from Jan. 23 - 26. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Vista Equity Partners is exploring an acquisition of Coupa Software Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The stock rose as much as 36% on the news.

Vista has held talks with the San Mateo, California-based company, which is working with an adviser, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. Private-credit lenders could provide financing for a potential deal, the people said.

No deal is imminent and Vista could opt against pursuing a transaction, the people said. Other suitors could emerge for Coupa too, they added.

Representatives for Vista and Coupa Software didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Coupa Software rose 34% to $61.42 at 1:43 p.m. in New York trading Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $4.7 billion. The stock had fallen 77% in the past year before Wednesday’s gain.

Led by billionaire Robert F. Smith, Vista is among the most active private equity investors in the technology sector. The firm agreed to pay $4.6 billion in October for software-security firm KnowBe4 Inc. and struck an $8.4 billion deal in August for Avalara Inc. It used private credit to fund those deals.

Coupa Software provides so-called business-spend management software, which helps companies track and manage the purchasing of goods and services. Customers have included Nestle SA and Groupon Inc., according to its website.

--With assistance from Liana Baker.

(Updates trading in first and fifth paragraphs.)