Splunk
- Splunk stock leaped 14% after the company announced a $1 billion investment from Silver Lake.
- The cash infusion will be plowed back into the business and used to fund a $1 billion share buyback.
- Splunk has been undergoing a long-term pivot from software license sales to recurring revenue cloud services.
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Shares of analytics company Splunk leaped as much as 14% Tuesday after the company announced a $1 billion investment from Silver Lake, a tech-focused private equity firm.
The cash infusion, funded through convertible debt that can be swapped for equity, will be plowed back into the business and used to fund a $1 billion share buyback program, Splunk said in a statement. Under the deal, Silver Lake chairman and managing partner Kenneth Hao will join Splunk's board.
"It has become increasingly clear that a cloud-driven transformation is critical to modernization and Splunk is ideally positioned to help organizations throughout the world manage the complexity associated with this transition," said Hao.
Splunk has been undergoing a long-term pivot from software license sales to recurring revenue cloud services, entering a market as competitive as it is profitable. In the first quarter of 2021, 39% of Splunk's revenue came from the cloud, versus 26% in Q1 last year.
The company has never turned a profit, and is banking on fast growth to attract capital and offset its losses. The $1 billion investment from Silver Lake is a vote of confidence in Splunk's ability to manage its growth.
Splunk's shares peaked at $143 during the trading day. The stock was trading at $137 per share, up 9.17% as of 1:40 p.m. ET.