Slightly over two years since going public, information technology management software firm Apptio Inc. is going private again via a $1.94 billion acquisition from private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners.

The deal will see Apptio shareholders receive $38 per share, a 53 percent premium to Friday’s closing price of $24.85.

According to Marketwatch Sunday, the price is below Apptio’s all-time closing high of $41.23 but is still above the price of shares over the longer term. At its initial public offering, Apptio raised $96 million at $16 per share.

The agreement includes a 30-day “go-shop” period that allows Apptio’s board and advisers to consider alternative offers, meaning the Vista deal may not be final if another party offers a better deal.

Founded in 2007 and notable in Silicon Valley folklore as the very first company venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz invested in, Apptio offers cloud-based technology business management software that helps chief information officers manage the business of IT. The company offers a “software-as-a-solution” platform of business analytics that provides facts and insights about technology cost, value and quality that allows CIOs and other IT heads to make data-driven solutions.

As of Apptio’s third-quarter financials, the company reported a profit of 5 cents per share, up from a loss of 2 cents a share for the same quarter of 2017, on revenue of $59.2 million for the quarter, up from $47 million a year ago.

“Since founding, our focus has been on building the next great cloud software platform by dedicating ourselves to helping companies of all sizes and industries manage, plan, and optimize technology investments across their hybrid IT environments,” Apptio co-founder and Chief Executive Sunny Gupta, said in a statement. “As we look to the next chapter of Apptio, we are thrilled to provide immediate liquidity to our shareholders at a significant premium to market prices and we remain deeply committed to our mission, product innovation, geographical expansion and the work of the TBM Council.”

The acquisition is hardly the first for Vista. The private equity firm snapped up cloud backup startup Datto Inc. October 2017 and SaaS events management firm Cvent Inc. for $1.65b in 2016.

Should there be no other bidders, Vista’s acquisition of Apttio is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

Photo: Apttio