Brookfield to buy automotive software maker CDK Global for $6.41 billion

Brookfield Business Partners is buying CDK Global Inc for $6.41 billion in cash, taking private the last major publicly traded provider of software to auto dealers and manufacturers.

The purchase announced on Thursday gives the private equity firm a strong foothold in an industry estimated to reach $29.3 billion by 2026, thanks to the rising software demands of companies from electric-vehicle startups to established auto manufacturers.

CDK Global has over the past several years come under pressure to sell itself and has been an activist target. It has offloaded low-margin businesses and instead tried to build out its digital businesses by buying