Advent Leads $2.5 B Sapiens Buyout as PE Rush for Software Builds

Advent International agreed to acquire Israeli insurance-software maker Sapiens International for $2.5 billion in cash, offering $43.50 a share—a 47.5% premium to Sapiens’ last Nasdaq close. The buyout, scheduled to close late 2025 or early 2026, will take the company private while allowing existing shareholder Formula Systems to retain a minority stake. Advent said it plans to accelerate Sapiens’ push into artificial-intelligence and software-as-a-service products for insurers. The announcement comes two days after Centerbridge Partners struck a separate deal to purchase U.S. financial-software provider MeridianLink for about $2 billion, or $20 a share, a 26% premium. MeridianLink’s take-private is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. The back-to-back transactions underscore renewed appetite among buyout firms for mid-size software companies, particularly those that cater to financial-services clients looking to modernize operations and harness AI. Advent is funding roughly $1.3 billion of equity for the Sapiens deal, with debt financing covering the balance, while Centerbridge is using its own capital to acquire MeridianLink, which went public just four years ago.