GitLab Explores Sale Amid Acquisition Interest

According to people familiar with the matter, GitLab, a U.S. provider of cloud-based software development tools whose investors include Google parent Alphabet, is exploring a sale after attracting acquisition interest.

The sources said GitLab, which has a market value of about $8 billion, is working with investment bankers on a sale process that has attracted interest from peers, including cloud monitoring firm Datadog.

Potential Deal and Market Interest:

The sources said any deal is still weeks away, and no agreement is certain, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential. GitLab and Datadog did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Alphabet, which has a 22.2% voting stake in GitLab through its venture capital arm, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Dealmaking in the technology sector is picking up as advances in artificial intelligence and cloud computing push companies to expand their offerings. Reuters has reported that Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for roughly $23 billion after previously exploring an acquisition offer for marketing software company HubSpot. The technology sector accounted for the largest share of mergers and acquisitions during the first half of 2024, jumping more than 42% year-on-year to $327.2 billion globally, according to data from Dealogic.

GitLab Market Position:

GitLab’s platform allows development, operations, and security teams to design and manage software using a single tool. According to its website, it has more than 30 million registered users and is deployed by more than half of the Fortune 100 firms. Although its nominal headquarters are in San Francisco, all its employees work remotely.

GitLab’s shares, which have been trading in New York since their initial public offering in 2021, are down 16% this year, underperforming a 3% rise in the S&P 500 Application Software index on concerns about customers cutting spending. While the company reported robust year-on-year revenue growth of 33% to $169.2 million and posted its first-ever positive cash flow in its latest quarter, it acknowledged it faces headwinds in pricing its offerings as it competes with Microsoft following its $7.5 billion acquisition in 2018 of rival GitHub.

Leadership and Health of CEO Sid Sijbrandij:

GitLab CEO and co-founder Sid Sijbrandij, who controls 45.51% of the voting stock through dual-class shares, said on the company’s quarterly earnings call last month that he would undergo treatment for osteosarcoma, a form of cancer, for a second time after he was also treated for it last year. He added that he is working on fully recovering and would continue with his duties.

Datadog, with a market value of $44 billion, offers software that allows technology workers to collaborate and measure their productivity using the cloud.