TheChek News Flow

The private-equity firm would pay $23 a share for the customer engagement and payments software business

Vista Equity Partners is close to a $4 billion deal to acquire business-software company EngageSmart ESMT -2.18%decrease; red down pointing triangle, a sizable buyout at a time when many private-equity firms are sitting on the sidelines.

Under the terms of the deal, shareholders in the customer engagement and payments software specialist would receive $23 a share in cash, according to people familiar with the situation. The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, barring any last-minute snags.

Based in Braintree, Mass., EngageSmart develops cloud-based software used by clinicians to manage their practices. It also offers electronic-invoice technology that helps governments, utilities and financial-services firms bill clients more efficiently. Nonprofits and other organizations that rely on donations, meanwhile, use the company’s products to bolster their fundraising efforts, its website says.

EngageSmart is listed in New York and controlled by General Atlantic, another investment firm. Reuters earlier this month reported that the business was seeking a buyer. It services more than 100,000 customers, mostly among small and mid-sized businesses, and generated a profit of $20.6 million last year, its latest annual report said.

Vista manages more than $100 billion of assets, focused on enterprise software, data and other technology companies. The take-private would be one in a string of recent deals for Vista. In February the firm completed the $4.6 billion purchase of cybersecurity firm KnowBe4, and more recently closed the $2.6 billion acquisition of software company Duck Creek. The Austin, Texas-based firm recently sold its portfolio company Apptio to IBM for $4.6 billion.