Private equity firm Silver Lake announced plans to merge two of its French software holdings, Cegid and Silae, in a deal with an enterprise value exceeding €10 billion ($11.6 billion). The merger will bring together Cegid's long‑standing accounting and tax solutions with Silae's payroll and human‑resources platform, forming a single entity that will also incorporate recent acquisitions such as Shine, a payments and digital‑banking service.
The combined company will employ roughly 1,400 developers and is expected to generate annual revenue of €1.6 billion ($1.9 billion). Silver Lake, which holds the majority stake in both firms, will retain majority ownership of the new group and appoint Christian Lucas as chairman.
According to Lucas, the merger aims to create scale across Europe’s fragmented software market, enabling the combined business to serve around 17 million small and medium‑size enterprises in France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. The larger platform will also accelerate research and development spending to address growing AI pressures in the software sector.
The transaction is subject to regulatory clearance and is slated for completion in the first half of 2027. Silver Lake said the integration will allow the firms to offer an integrated suite covering payroll, accounting, e‑invoicing, digital finance and payments, positioning the new group as a pan‑European champion in AI‑enhanced business software.
