The GitLab platform may be sold to one of its competitors

US cloud software development tools provider GitLab, which counts Google parent Alphabet among its investors, is exploring a sale amid interest from potential buyers. Reuters writes about this with reference to its own informed sources.

Image source: Alex Kotliarskyi / Unsplash

The report said GitLab, which has a market value of about $8 billion, is working with investment bankers on the sale process. Cloud monitoring company Datadog is named as one of the possible buyers. It is noted that it is too early to talk about a deal with anyone, since negotiations on the possible sale of GitLab are still underway. Official representatives of GitLab and Datadog refrain from commenting on this issue. Alphabet, which owns 22.2% of GitLab’s voting shares through its venture capital arm, has also not commented on a possible sale of the cloud platform.

Deals in the technology sector are gaining momentum as advances in artificial intelligence and cloud computing push companies to expand the range of services they offer. Alphabet is in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz, which is worth about $23 billion. Previously, Alphabet also considered purchasing HubSpot, which develops marketing software.

According to Dealogic, in the first half of 2024, the largest share of mergers and acquisitions occurred in the technology sector – more than 42% year-on-year for a total of $327.2 billion. As for GitLab, the company has more than 30 million registered users. GitLab shares have been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since their initial public offering in 2021. The company’s stock price has fallen 16% this year amid investor concerns that GitLab customers will cut back on software spending.