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Key Points
- Vista Equity Partners sold its remaining Cvent shares to Blackstone, finalizing its exit from the event software company.
- The deal marks the end of a long-term investment and returns proceeds to Vista’s backers after years of growth and transformation.
- Cvent pivoted to hybrid events during the pandemic, helping Vista hold its stake through volatility and profit on the rebound.
Vista Equity Partners, the technology-focused investment firm led by Black billionaire Robert F. Smith, has fully exited its stake in Cvent after selling its remaining shares to Blackstone in a $1.3 billion deal. The sale comes a year after Blackstone took Cvent private in a $4.6 billion acquisition, finalizing its full ownership of the event software company.
Cvent’s pivot pays off for Vista
Vista had originally acquired Cvent in 2016 for $1.7 billion. When Blackstone led the take-private deal in 2023, Vista retained a preferred equity position, which it has now sold in full. The exit closes the chapter on one of Vista’s longer-term holdings and returns capital to investors following years of partnership and transformation at the company.
The deal also reflects Vista’s broader strategy under Robert F. Smith, who has guided the firm through major shifts in the tech industry, including the upheaval of the live events market during the pandemic. Cvent adapted during that time with a pivot to hybrid event solutions, and Vista stayed with the business through both the downturn and its recovery.
Vista invests in enterprise software growth
Robert F. Smith, who Bloomberg ranks as America’s second-richest Black billionaire with a net worth of $11.1 billion, has overseen Vista’s rise from a $3.5 billion fund in 2012 to more than $100 billion in assets under management. Over the years, Vista has backed more than 85 enterprise software companies and executed over 600 transactions totaling $320 billion.
Smith is known for staying closely involved with portfolio companies and prioritizing long-term growth through careful execution. That approach has helped establish Vista as one of the most active and respected players in tech-focused private equity.
This latest Cvent exit follows another major move by Vista in June 2025, when it raised $5.6 billion to extend its investment in Cloud Software Group, the parent of Citrix and Tibco. The deal, one of the largest single-asset continuation fund transactions to date, combined $2.7 billion in new capital with $2.2 billion from Vista’s existing flagship funds.
Technology-focused investment firm frees up investor capital
Cloud Software Group was formed in 2022 after a $16.5 billion leveraged buyout—one of the biggest tech deals that year. Vista Equity Partners had acquired Tibco in 2014 and later merged it with Citrix as part of that landmark transaction. The latest move, involving a continuation fund, values the combined business just below its first-quarter 2024 estimate. The setup gives Vista more time to oversee the company while returning some capital to early backers.
Continuation funds like this are becoming a more common tool in private equity. They give firms more flexibility around how and when to exit an investment, while offering investors a chance to cash out without forcing a quick sale. The secondaries market hit a record $152 billion in 2024, with nearly half of that coming from continuation deals—where fund managers set up new vehicles to hold on to high-value assets a little longer.
