Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners LLC raised $11.4 billion in the first close of its newest fund in late September, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source.

Vista Equity Partners Fund VII LP, which targets software companies, would be the largest such buyout fund raised by an independent private equity firm if it meets its $16 billion target and would surpass Silver Lake Partners' fifth fund, which collected $15 billion in 2017, according to the report.

The first closing for the Vista fund was helped by U.S. public pension managers, with the public pensions of New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania all committing to the vehicle, the publication noted.

Vista has already deployed or committed 80% of its $11 billion predecessor fund that closed in 2017, the source told the publication.