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Lew Cirne, CEO, New Relic

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

A consortium led by Francisco Partners and private equity group TPG will take software provider New Relic private in an all-cash, $87-a-share offer that values the company at nearly $6.5 billion, the company announced Monday.

New Relic shares rose 14% in pre-market trading, to over $84. The offer represents a 26% premium to New Relic’s 30-day volume-weighted average closing price, the company said. New Relic builds software to help websites and applications track performance.

The deal is expected to close by early 2024, the company said. It will return the company to private ownership nearly nine years after it first debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

“We are pleased to partner with Francisco Partners and TPG, who are committed to continuing to build upon New Relic’s strong foundation and achieve its full potential,” New Relic founder and executive chairman Lew Cirne said in a release.

Reuters reported in May that Francisco Partners and TPG had ended deal talks after failing to secure enough debt financing to meet New Relic’s desired valuation. The resurrected deal was announced concurrently with New Relic’s earnings report.

Since that report, the private equity groups were able to obtain financing and meet New Relic’s valuation requirements. Major shareholders, including Cirne and activist hedge fund Jana Partners, have signed off on the deal.

Under the terms of the deal, New Relic will have a 45-day “go-shop” period, during which it can entertain offers from other qualified bidders.

TPG is an alternative asset manager with tech exits and investments around the world, including Airbnb, Box, and Zscaler.

Francisco Partners is a technology-focused private equity firm with past investments in Barracuda Networks, On Semiconductor, and K2. In recent years, the firm has taken other cloud and IT companies private, including in a $17 billion deal for Sumo Logic and a 2018 deal for payment technology company Verifone.

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South Korea’s LG Energy Solution signs $4.3 billion battery supply deal with undisclosed party

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South Korea's LG Energy Solution signs .3 billion battery supply deal with undisclosed party

The logo of LG Electronics is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023.

Pau Barrena | Afp | Getty Images

South Korea-based LG Energy Solution announced Wednesday that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract for supplying batteries to a major corporation, without naming the customer.

The effective date of contract — receipt of orders — began Tuesday and will conclude at the end of July, 2030. During this period, the counterparty will not be disclosed to maintain business confidentiality, the company’s filing with the Korea Exchange showed Wednesday. Reuters reported that Tesla was the counterparty.

Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the EV maker was behind a previously undisclosed $16.5 billion chip contract with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. 

LG Energy said in its filing that details of the contract such as the deal amount were subject to change and the contract period could be extended by up to seven years. 

“Investors are advised to carefully consider the possibility of changes or termination of the contract when making investment decisions,” the company cautioned. It’s shares were trading 0.26% lower. 

The filing did not clarify whether the lithium iron phosphate batteries would be used in vehicles or energy storage systems. Its major battery customers include American electric-vehicle makers Tesla and General Motors.

The company has been expanding its battery production in the U.S., and is constructing a plant in Arizona that will produce lithium iron phosphate batteries. 

LG Energy Solution and Tesla did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. 

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CyberArk’s stock jumps on report Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy company for over $20 billion

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CyberArk's stock jumps on report Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy company for over  billion

Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, looks on during the closing bell at the Nasdaq Market in New York City, U.S., March 25, 2025.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

CyberArk shares soared as much as 18% on Tuesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks has held discussions to buy the identity management software maker for over $20 billion.

Cloud security is becoming an increasingly critical piece of the enterprise tech stack, especially as rapid advancements in artificial intelligence bring with them a whole new set of threats, and as ransomware attacks become more commonplace.

Founded in 2005, Palo Alto Networks has emerged in recent years as a consolidator in the cybersecurity industry and has grown into the biggest player in the space by market cap, with a valuation of over $130 billion. CEO Nikesh Arora, who was appointed to the job in 2018, has been on a spending spree, snapping up Protect AI in a deal that closed in July, and in 2023 buying Talon Cyber Security, Dig Security and Zycada Networks.

But CyberArk would represent by far Arora’s biggest bet yet. The Israeli company, which went public in 2014, provides technology that helps companies streamline the process of logging on to applications for employees.

CyberArk faces competition from Microsoft, Okta and IBM‘s HashiCorp. Another rival, SailPoint, returned to the public markets in February.

With Tuesday’s rally, CyberArk shares climbed to a record, surpassing their prior all-time high reached in February. The stock is up 29% this year, pushing the company’s market cap to almost $21 billion, after jumping 52% in 2024. Palo Alto shares, meanwhile, slid 3.5% on the report and are now up about 9% for the year.

Representatives from Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk declined to comment.

During the first quarter, CyberArk generated around $11.5 million in net income on around $318 million in revenue, which was up 43% from a year earlier.

It’s been an active stretch for big deals in the cyber market. Google said in March that it was spending $32 billion on Wiz, its largest acquisition on record by far, and a purchase intended to bolster its cloud business with greater AI security technology.

Networking giant Cisco also made its biggest deal ever in the security space, buying Splunk in 2023 for $28 billion. Splunk’s technology helps businesses monitor and analyze their data to minimize the risk of hacks and resolve technical issues faster.

— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report

WATCH: Cisco CEO on acquisition of Splunk

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins: $28 billion Splunk deal will be a significant financial growth driver

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Spotify stock falls on revenue miss, lackluster guidance

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Spotify stock falls on revenue miss, lackluster guidance

Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify shares dropped about 4% Tuesday after the music streaming platform fell short of Wall Street’s expectations and posted weak guidance for the current quarter.

Here’s how the company did versus LSEG estimates:

  • Loss: Loss of .42 euros vs earnings of 1.90 euros per share expected
  • Revenue: 4.19 billion euros vs. 4.26 billion expected

The Sweden-based music platform’s revenues rose 10% from about 3.81 billion euros in the year-ago period. The company posted a net loss of 86 million euros, or a loss of .42 euros per share, down from net income of 225 million euros, or 1.10 euros per share a year ago.

Third-quarter guidance came up short of Wall Street’s forecast.

The company expects revenues to reach 4.2 billion euros, compared to a 4.47 billion euro estimate from StreetAccount. Spotify said the forecast accounts for a 490-basis-point headwind due to foreign exchange rates.

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Monthly active users on the platform jumped 11% to 696 million, while paying subscribers rose 12% from a year ago to 276 million.

For the current quarter, Spotify said it expects to reach 710 million monthly active users, with 14 million net adds. The company expects 5 million net new premium subscribers in the third quarter to reach 281 million subscriptions.

During the period, Spotify said it rolled out a request feature for its artificial intelligence DJ. The company said engagement with the offering has roughly doubled over the last year.

In 2024, Spotify posted its first full year of profitability. Shares are up 57% this year.

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