I went to the Serena UK Customer day recently where there was a brief discussion as to the reasons for the $1.2bn Serena buyout by Silver Lake Partners. The FAQ (follow previous link) mentions:
“We expect that under private ownership we will have far greater flexibility to focus on
meeting your needs more effectively and efficiently. Being a private company should
also allow us to make long-term investments in our product and service offerings and
ultimately become a more valuable partner to you.”
The presentation mentioned these investments which might depress the share price if it remained public. Not explicitly mentioned, were costs and other requirements of Sarbanes Oxley compliance. Interesting how Serena as a vendor of tools to help other organisations achieve compliance is itself avoiding the issue by going private!