---
title: "Why Startup M\u0026A in 2024 Will Rebound"
description: "Discover why 2024 startup M\u0026A will surge, backed by $50.2B in take-private deals and key SaaS trends. Data-driven analysis for founders and VCs."
categories: ["exits"]
keywords: ["Theory Ventures","Tomasz Tunguz","startup M\u0026A","venture capital","SaaS trends","private equity","take-private deals","strategic acquisitions","software company valuations"]
ai_summary: "Explore the factors driving a surge in startup M\u0026A in 2024, including private equity trends and SaaS market dynamics."
date: 2023-12-20
lastmod: 2026-07-17
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/alteryx/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---

Earlier this week, Alteryx announced its intention to go private for $4.4b. It's the 10th in 2023.

| Company | Valuation | 
| --- | ---: | 
| Qualtrics | 12.5  | 
| Coupa | 8 |  
| New Relic | 6.5 |  
| Cvent | 4.6 | 
| KnowBe4 | 4.6 | 
| Alteryx | 4.4 | 
| EngageSmart | 4.0  | 
| Software AG | 2.4 |
| Sumo Logic | 1.7  | 
| Momentive | 1.5 | 
| Total | 50.2 | 

In December of last year, [I wrote](https://tomtunguz.com/2023-predictions/) :

> Private equity acquires 10% of the 70+ publicly traded software companies by the end of the year. With hundreds of billions of dry powder, plenty of healthy cash flows generated by SaaS publics, & the leverage of the inevitable shareholder lawsuit if a board rebuffs the 30% premium of a tender offer, private equity becomes the dominant M&A option in dollar terms for 2023.

With 10 companies taken private, the market exceeded my prediction.

Meanwhile, venture-backed software M&A in the US, Canada, & Europe during 2023 totaled about $10b, about 20% of take-privates. 

The top two companies account for about one-third of that amount: WideOrbit (ad management for TV & radio) at $1.6b & Mosaic (machine learning platform) at $1.3b.

Strategic M&A was limited in 2023 for a few reasons. First, [anti-trust scrutiny](https://tomtunguz.com/antitrust-impact-ma/), which blocked the Adobe/Figma transaction, has pressured five trillion-dollar-market-cap-acquirers. 

Second, the significant stock market volatility makes valuing acquisitions difficult. 

Third, the lack of sales predictability in the first two quarters of the year, because of [pipeline shocks](https://tomtunguz.com/pipeline-sales-cycle/), focused teams on internal stability, rather than outward expansion. 

The anti-trust pressure will remain in 2023, but the other two factors should dissipate, suggesting strategic M&A should grow meaningfully in 2024. In addition, the decreasing costs of debt as the Fed cuts rates will continue to fuel private equity M&A.