After a drama-ridden journey that spanned the course of several months, the fate of customer experience software company Zendesk has finally been sealed. It is set to be acquired by an investor group that is led by global investment firms Permira and Hellman & Friedman LLC.
Zendesk announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the investor group to be acquired in an all-cash deal that values it at nearly $10.2 billion (far below the $15.25 billion at which Zendesk was valued this April.) The investor group includes a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC.
This amount is far lesser than the $17 billion it was offered in February 2022 from private equity firms. A few days later, Zendesk abandoned its plans to buy Momentive, which is the parent company of SurveyMonkey.
“This is the start of a new chapter for Zendesk with partners that are aligned with the strength of our agile products and talented team, and are committed to providing the resources and expertise to continue our growth trajectory,” said Mikkel Svane, founder, chairman and CEO, Zendesk. It is expected that the deal will close in the fourth quarter of the year, at which point Zendesk will once again go private.
“The Board conducted an extensive strategic review over a three-month period, receiving an actionable offer from Hellman & Friedman and Permira after the termination of our formal process,” said Carl Bass, lead independent director, Zendesk. “This transaction provides certainty of value for our shareholders at a significant premium to Zendesk’s trading price.” He added that the company’s board believes it to be the best alternative.
According to the multi-billion-dollar transaction, the shareholders of Zendesk will receive $77.50 for every share they own. This offer comes after the company’s recent announcement that it will remain independent, something that saw its stocks plummet.
Currently, the deal represents a premium of approximately 34% over the company’s closing stock price on Thursday. Its shares rose by up to 30% during premarket trading Friday to current trade at $74.31.
