Workday stock surges on Silver Lake buyout talks report

Workday's (NASDAQ:WDAY) stock price skyrocketed by 25% on Thursday after a Reuters report revealed that private equity firm Silver Lake was in negotiations to acquire the company. Trading activity was halted on three occasions due to the volatility caused by the news. According to the report, discussions between Silver Lake and Workday had been taking place over the past few months, but no formal agreement has been reached yet.

If the acquisition were to happen, it would value Workday at more than its current market cap of $43 billion, making it one of the biggest software buyouts in history. Workday's shares have been on a downward trend this year, with a 15% decline so far and a 40% drop from its 2024 high. The surge in the stock price highlights just how significantly Workday had been undervalued until Thursday.

As of August 12, the stock closed at $175.29, a 30% decrease from its 52-week high of $249.85, placing it within a range that fell as low as $110.36 over the past year. Neither Silver Lake nor Workday provided any comment on the reported talks.