Report: Financial investor EQT considers selling SUSE Linux

Financial investor EQT is considering selling the open-source software company SUSE. This was reported on Monday by the news agency Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the report, EQT has commissioned the investment bank Arma Partners to search for potential buyers.

Should the deal go through, it could bring in up to six billion US dollars (5.1 billion euros). However, talks are said to be in an early stage. No final decision on a sale has been made yet.

Swedish-based private equity firm EQT AB spun out Linux specialist SUSE from US group Micro Focus in 2018. In 2023, EQT significantly increased its majority stake in SUSE and took the Luxembourg-based software company private. At the time, SUSE was valued at just under three billion US dollars.

Uncertainty in the software industry

The potential sale by EQT comes at a time of increasing uncertainty in the software industry. Investors fear that new AI tools could displace many existing software products, Reuters reports, which is weighing on the valuations of technology companies overall.

However, experts see SUSE as a potential beneficiary of the AI boom, as demand for reliable base software for companies is likely to increase with the development and deployment of further AI applications.

SUSE stands for "Software und System-Entwicklung" (Software and System Development). Founded in 1992 by three students in Fürth, the company is known for SUSE Linux, a variant of the Linux operating system, and offers open-source software for business customers. Like Linux, the program code is freely accessible and can be adapted to the respective needs of the customers. According to SUSE's website, these include companies such as Microsoft, BMW, and SAP. SUSE generates annual revenue of around 800 million US dollars and an operating profit of over 250 million US dollars.

(akn)