OneStream CEO: $6.4 billion deal to go private will accelerate AI strategy in finance
Good morning. Financial software developer OneStream is set to go private again in a move aimed at strengthening its position amid the AI boom.
Private equity firm Hg has agreed to acquire OneStream in an all-cash deal valued at about $6.4 billion, paying $24 per share, the company announced on Tuesday. OneStream CEO Tom Shea told me in an exclusive interview that the deal is about gaining speed.
“We really feel strongly that, in the next 24 to 36 months, the AI world, especially within finance, is going to be defined, and there are going to be emerging winners and losers in that space,” Shea said.
Alongside Hg, General Atlantic, and Tidemark will join as minority investors. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Michigan-based OneStream has more than 1,700 customers globally, including Toyota, Capital One, and UPS.
Hg is taking OneStream private less than two years after its Nasdaq debut in July 2024 under majority ownership of KKR, with an IPO that priced at $20 per share and valued the company at around $4.6 billion. OneStream faced some headwinds in the public markets due to macro conditions, growth-valuation tension, and practical AI ROI questions in finance. Nonetheless, the company reported $568 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024 and is broadening its suite of AI-powered tools for corporate finance, with AI bookings up about 60% year over year in the third quarter, according to Shea.
He described the buyout as an opportunity to focus more aggressively on AI-driven innovation with a long-term focus rather than a quarterly one.
“For 90% of our existence, we have been a privately held company, with great partners, like with KKR, and evolved to being a very viable public company,” said Shea, a co-founder of OneStream, which launched in 2012.
Hg’s longer-term perspective will help put OneStream “back in the driver’s seat to control the velocity by which we can invest in AI,” he said, adding that the firm shares “fundamental alignment, trust, and belief in the vision and the opportunity.”
A finance leader to guide the next phase of growth
OneStream is also reshaping its leadership to match its AI ambitions. John Kinzer, a longtime OneStream board member and former CFO of HubSpot, became interim CFO on Jan. 1, succeeding Bill Koefoed. The company has launched a search for a permanent finance chief.
Kinzer said Hg recognizes something the public markets have largely overlooked—that AI value creation depends on structured data and domain expertise, not just large language models.
“Everyone is obviously very excited about AI, but they’re thinking that everything’s going to be done through an LLM, so all the money is going to 10 to 20 companies,” he told me. He argued that customers will need platforms that actually let them realize AI’s value, and that OneStream’s foundation of financial and operational data positions it well to play that role.
His immediate priority is to position the company for sustained expansion. “I took HubSpot public and scaled it over the next five years, and I see some similarities here at OneStream,” Kinzer said. Along with strategic alignment, he is focused on making sure investments go “to the areas that will generate the highest returns—right now, that’s AI.”
For now, Shea and Kinzer are working as close strategic partners during the transition. Shea is looking for a CFO who can help scale the company to $1 billion in revenue and beyond, and who is “highly aligned” with that trajectory.
He stressed that while the buyout represents a significant corporate shift, it does not alter OneStream’s mission or independence. “There’s no deviation in our long-term vision,” Shea said. “Shared value creation will continue to guide everything we do—for our investors, employees, and customers.”
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com