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In a major consolidation within the enterprise Java market, Azul, the company 100% dedicated to Java, has announced the acquisition of Payara, a leading global provider of Jakarta EE (Java EE) solutions.
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The strategic move unites two pivotal open-source players, aiming to address critical enterprise challenges: accelerating application modernization, achieving cloud-native agility, and reducing costly dependencies on proprietary platforms.
The combined entity will offer customers a comprehensive, commercially supported, open-source Java platform capable of supporting an organization’s entire application fleet—from legacy business-critical systems to modern microservices and IoT frameworks.
Complementary Strengths: A Deep-Rooted Partnership
The acquisition is the culmination of nearly eight years of technical collaboration, beginning in 2018 when Azul’s runtime, Azul Platform Core, was embedded into Payara Server Enterprise.
- Payara brings deep Jakarta EE engineering expertise and a proven go-to-market track record, strengthening Azul’s position in the application server and microservices segment.
- Azul gains a fortified portfolio, enabling it to provide end-to-end, open-source solutions that promise faster, more secure, and more cost-effective deployments compared to proprietary alternatives like Oracle.
Both companies share a foundational commitment to open-source communities, including OpenJDK and the Eclipse Jakarta EE Platform.
Driving Innovation and Customer Value in a $26B Market
“This strategic acquisition is further testament to Azul’s commitment to support the needs of our global enterprise customer base. Payara delivers proven products that are naturally synergistic with our existing offerings… Together, we will accelerate growth and innovation,” said Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO of Azul.
The merger is positioned to deliver significant value and innovation to enterprise customers globally.
“This is a major new chapter for Payara. Together, we will strengthen mission-critical solutions for enterprise Java customers and deliver greater performance, security and innovation,” added Steve Millidge, founder and CEO at Payara.
Financially, the acquisition expands Azul’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) by an estimated $26 billion, a segment projected to grow at a CAGR of 11–14%. This follows Azul’s recent majority investment from the software-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
“Azul’s category-defining innovations create a significant opportunity for global enterprises to leverage innovative and cost-effective open-source solutions,” said Adam Solomon, a Partner at Thoma Bravo.
The transaction was advised by Goodwin Procter LLP, with debt financing provided by funds affiliated with Ares Management LLC.
