The private equity manager EQT AB has opened the door to a possible sale of SUSEOne of Europe's leading providers of open-source software for businesses. The deal, still in its very early stages, could value the company at around $6.000 billion, a figure that would practically double its initial public offering value just over two years ago.
This potential move comes at a delicate time for the technology sector, with corrections to software quotes And a cooler mergers and acquisitions market due to doubts about the impact of artificial intelligence on many traditional solutions. Despite this context, SUSE's profile as a provider of critical infrastructure for large corporations places it in a unique position within the European ecosystem.
A sales study that is not yet decided
According to sources familiar with the process cited by Reuters, EQT reportedly commissioned the investment bank Arma Partners to gauge the appetite of other private equity funds for SUSE. The mandate would consist of exploring the interest of potential buyers and assessing what valuation range could be achieved in a possible transaction.
For now, these are preliminary deliberations and There is no guarantee that the deal will go through.Both EQT and SUSE, as well as Arma Partners itself, have avoided making public statements and have not responded to requests for comment, reinforcing the idea that the process is in an exploratory phase.
From stock market exit to a possible record revaluation
The Swedish asset manager, which already controlled the majority of the capital, decided delist SUSE from the stock market in 2023. by repurchasing the listed shares. The company was then valued at around €2.720 billion, approximately $2.960-$3.000 billion, marking the beginning of a new phase as a privately held company.
Now, the figures circulating in the market point to a range of between 4.000 and 6.000 million dollars If the sale goes through, according to estimates shared by the same sources, at the high end of the range, SUSE's value would practically double in just over two years—an unusual jump in the current environment of multiple compression in the technology sector.
Solid revenue and attractive margins
Behind these valuations lies the company's financial performance. According to estimates shared with potential investors, SUSE generates around $800 million in annual revenuesupported by support contracts and subscriptions with large corporate clients and public entities.
Furthermore, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would exceed 250 millionThis places the operating margin at a competitive level within the enterprise software sector. These figures would justify EQT's advisors presenting a valuation range of between $4.000 billion and $6.000 billion in the context of a potential funding round.
SUSE, a veteran of European Linux for businesses
Beyond the numbers, SUSE's appeal lies in its position as one of the world's pioneers in Linux distributions for businessesFounded in 1992 in Germany by three students and an engineer —Roland Dyroff, Thomas Fehr, Hubert Mantel and Burchard Steinbild—, its name comes from the German acronym “Software und System-Entwicklung” (software and systems development).
Over more than three decades, the company has consolidated a catalog of solutions for Enterprise Linux, containers, and cloud technologies aimed at large organizations. Their products allow for the deployment and management of applications on cloud servers, mainframes, traditional data centers, and edge devices—an increasingly critical area with the expansion of edge computing.
Global clients and weight in the corporate fabric
Among the users of their platforms are large multinational corporations such as Walmart, Deutsche Bank and IntelAccording to information available on the company's own website, SUSE's presence in key banking, retail, industrial, and technology infrastructures reinforces its role as a strategic supplier within the open-source software ecosystem.
In fact, the company claims that over 60% of the companies in the Fortune 500 index They rely on their solutions to manage at least part of their workloads. This widespread presence among large accounts explains the interest it can generate among private equity funds, especially in Europe, where globally scalable technology assets are scarce.
A history of changing hands
SUSE's corporate history has been marked by several changes in ownership. Over the years, The company has been under the control of Novell, The Attachmate Group, and Micro Focus.until it ended up in the hands of EQT, its current owner. Each stage has involved adjustments in strategy and positioning within the enterprise software market.
If the transaction currently being explored is ultimately completed, we would be facing the fifth significant change of ownership in the company's historyThis pattern of buying and selling is not unusual in the sector, but it raises questions about the long-term stability of the technology roadmap and the level of independence that the engineering teams would maintain.
The role of EQT and operational independence
The introduction of EQT brought a differentiating nuance compared to previous stages: it was the first owner whose main business was not strictly technology-basedThis allowed SUSE to operate with a significant degree of autonomy, focusing on strengthening its open-source infrastructure offering and expanding its corporate customer base.
During these years the company has continued to drive key projects in the universe of Linux, Kubernetes and cloud computingwith a special focus on hybrid and multicloud environments. This independence, however, could be conditioned by the profile of the eventual new buyer and by the type of synergies—financial or industrial—that it seeks.
AI, stock market correction, and infrastructure opportunities
The analysis of the potential sale of SUSE cannot be separated from the broader context of the European and global technology sector. In recent months, The stock market valuations of many software companies have suffered.This is partly due to the perception that the wave of new artificial intelligence tools could cannibalize existing products or services.
However, some investors believe that companies like SUSE could benefit from the expansion of AI. Their reasoning is that the massive deployment of artificial intelligence applications will increase the demand for robust infrastructures—enterprise operating systems, container platforms, orchestration tools, and cloud and edge solutions—precisely the areas where the Luxembourg-based firm has a strong presence.
At this crossroads of market correction, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the search for European technology assets with global reach, EQT's potential sale of SUSE has become one of the most closely watched moves by private equity firms. The combination of a top-tier customer base, solid financial results, and a strategic role in open-source infrastructure has put the company on the radar of numerous investors, although it remains to be seen whether this interest will translate into a firm offer and another change of ownership for one of the veterans of enterprise Linux.
