Splunk Stock Rises as Hellman & Friedman Takes 7.5% Stake

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Private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman has acquired a 7.5% stake in software solutions company

Splunk
,
sending the stock rising Friday.

The stake is worth about $1.4 billion, and would make Hellman & Friedman the largest active shareholder of Splunk, according to The Wall Street Journal. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

“We are aware of H&F’s investment in Splunk, and are pleased they share our confidence in the strength of our business and significant opportunity ahead,” a Splunk spokesperson said via email.

Earlier this week, Splunk appointed a new CEO, Gary Steele, and posted better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Revenue was $901 million for the quarter, above the company’s previous guidance range of $740 million to $790 million and the Wall Street consensus of $776 million. The stock rallied on the news, with the shares jumping 6% on Thursday.

“We are very enthusiastic about Gary’s appointment to CEO and look forward to providing collaborative support to the company as it works to enhance value for all shareholders,” a Hellman & Friedman spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Splunk makes software used by companies’ information technology and security operations to monitor and analyze data. The company has been receiving significant attention from a variety of tech-focused investors, such as Hellman & Friedman.

In February, the stock surged following a report that

Cisco Systems

(

CSCO

) made a takeover offer of more than $20 billion for the company. The companies, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time, aren’t in active talks.

Last year, private-equity firm Silver Lake invested $1 billion in Splunk’s convertible senior notes.

Splunk stock was up 5% to $127.90 on Friday.

Write to Sabrina Escobar at [email protected]