- Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to buy Wrike for $2.25 billion. These are the details.
Today Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to buy Wrike — which is a rapidly growing leader in the SaaS collaborative work management space — for $2.25 billion in cash. This combination is going to bring together Citrix’s powerful digital work platform and Wrike’s innovative work management solution, providing employees with additional tools to work efficiently and securely wherever they may be. The addition of Wrike’s cloud-delivered capabilities is going to accelerate Citrix’s business model transition to the cloud and strategy to become a complete SaaS-based work platform addressing the needs of various functional groups within the enterprise.
The combined company is going to offer customers an enhanced value proposition by unlocking new revenue opportunities both within existing installed customer bases and new lines of business buying centers, including marketing, professional services, and HR. Citrix and Wrike will serve more than 400,000 customers across 140 countries. And upon the closing of the deal, Wrike will gain access to Citrix’s robust ecosystem of partners, creating new opportunities within the ecosystem to drive additional value for customers.
Wrike provides approximately 18,000 customers globally with solutions that empower teams and distributed workers to plan, manage, and efficiently complete work at scale. And Wrike is expected to have approximately 30% in stand-alone growth to between $180 million and $190 million in unaudited SaaS annualized recurring revenue (ARR) in 2021, with the opportunity to accelerate growth over time under Citrix’s ownership.
Citrix is known for providing a market-leading digital work platform from which companies can deliver unified, secure, and reliable access to the systems, information, and tools people need to get work done wherever they may be working. And with the addition of Wrike’s offerings, Citrix will expand its platform to include new collaborative work management capabilities that enable companies to simplify work execution and boost employee effectiveness and productivity by automating and streamlining team collaboration as well as unifying workflows across all employees and work styles.
Wrike had ended the calendar year 2020 with more than $140 million in unaudited SaaS ARR, reflecting more than 30% CAGR in SaaS ARR over the prior two years. And the company is expected to have approximately 30% standalone growth to between $180 million and $190 million in SaaS ARR in 2021 with the opportunity to accelerate growth over time under Citrix’s ownership. And the addition of Wrike is highly complementary to Citrix’s existing customer base and is expected to accelerate Citrix’s SaaS ARR growth.
The transaction — which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both Citrix and Wrike — is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Until the closing of the deal, the companies will continue to operate independently. Following the closing, Wrike funder and CEO Andrew Filev will continue to lead the Wrike team and report to Arlen Shenkman, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Citrix.
KEY QUOTES:
“Work today is happening everywhere – at home, in the office and on the road. We believe that in the future, success will go to those companies that can support flexible and hybrid work models and provide a consistent, secure and efficient experience that removes the complexity and noise from work so employees can focus and perform at their best, wherever they happen to be. Together, Citrix and Wrike will deliver the solutions needed to power a cloud-delivered digital workspace experience that enables teams to securely access the resources and tools they need to collaborate and get work done in the most efficient and effective way possible across any channel, device or location.”
— David Henshall, President and CEO, Citrix
“When it comes to the future of work, Citrix and Wrike share a common vision and mission: to reduce the complexity and chaos of work and empower every person, team, and organization to achieve their very best. Together, we will unlock the workspace of the future, truly transforming the work experience and equipping people with an innovative set of solutions they can use to exceed goals and keep business moving forward.”
— Andrew Filev, Founder and CEO, Wrike.
