Citrix to acquire Wrike for $2.25 billion

Citrix plans to acquire Wrike for $2.25 billion and integrate its project management software into Workspace, Citrix's SaaS application for delivering business applications to corporate workers.

The company announced the acquisition Tuesday, saying the deal is subject to regulatory approval. If all goes well, Citrix expects to close the deal -- its largest purchase to date -- in the first half of 2021.

Wrike's software helps businesses coordinate projects by providing a central place to track progress, assign tasks and set a schedule. Wrike, founded in 2006 and based in San Jose, Calif., serves about 18,000 customers, competing in the project management market against products like Smartsheet and Microsoft Project. The firm is a Vista Equity Partners portfolio company and counts Nielsen, Siemens and marketing company Hootsuite among its customers.

According to a Citrix release, Wrike ended 2020 with $140 million in SaaS annual recurring revenue and has more than 1,000 employees.

Citrix will fund the deal through both new debt and existing cash and has set up a $1.45 billion bridge loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Citrix said the two companies would continue to operate independently until the deal closes. At that point, Wrike founder and CEO Andrew Filev will continue to lead his team, reporting to Citrix CFO Arlen Shenkman.

Mark Bowker, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, said the acquisition would provide Citrix with software that might prove essential for managing at-home workers unavailable for in-person meetings with supervisors. Project management software lets companies track those employees' progress and ensure that work stays on schedule.

Tim Minahan

Citrix executive vice president Tim Minahan said the company will provide details on integrating Wrike's software into Workspace after the deal closes. Citrix has positioned Workspace as a central hub for delivering only the business software workers need to do their jobs.

Minahan noted that hybrid work is more prevalent than ever and said Wrike furthers Citrix's goal of providing remote access to more business applications.

Mike Gleason is a reporter covering end-user computing topics such as desktop management. He previously covered communities in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts for the Milford Daily News, Walpole Times, Sharon Advocate and Medfield Press. He has also worked for newspapers in Central Massachusetts and Southwestern Vermont and served as a local editor for Patch. He can be found on Twitter at @MGleason_TT.

Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) is a division of TechTarget.