Billionaire Smith’s Vista Scores More Than 100% Return on Apptio

Buyout titan Robert Smith’s Vista Equity Partners more than doubled its initial investment in Apptio Inc. after International Business Machines Corp. agreed to acquire the software maker for $4.6 billion.

The private equity firm, which bought Apptio in early 2019 for about $1.9 billion, told investors that the deal would return 2.1 times the firm’s investment after accounting for fees. Vista has generated $18 billion in total value by cashing in on bets since late 2021, it said in a statement on Monday.

The deal gives Smith new ammunition as he scours the globe to raise a $20 billion ...