Zendesk, a Danish software development company, confirmed on June 24 its takeover by a group of investment funds. This is made up of Hellman & Friedman and Permira, two American private equity firms. The acquisition is estimated at $10.2 billion.
Zendesk acquired for $10.2 billion
Founded in 2007, Zendesk offers software to businesses that helps them communicate with their customers. Based in San Francisco, the company has nearly 5,500 employees and more than 160,000 users. The latter announced that it had been redeemed for $77.50 per share. An offer 34% higher than its value on the stock market on June 23.
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Mikkel Svane, founder and CEO of the company, said in a press release that this acquisition is “ the start of a new chapter for Zendesk with partners who are aligned with the strength of our agile products and talented team. They are committed to providing the resources and expertise necessary to continue our growth trajectory “.
The company, which also offers a cloud-based customer service platform, caught the eye of Hellman & Friedman and Permira. For Ryan Lanpherpartner at Permira, “ Zendesk has reinvented customer service software and empowers businesses to transform how they communicate with their customers in an increasingly digital world. “.
Approved unanimously by Zendesk’s board of directors, this acquisition should be finalized by the last quarter of the year.
An indecisive company
If this takeover allows shareholders to obtain a capital gain on the value of their shares, it is however not the biggest offer that Zendesk has seen. The Danish company refused in February an acquisition proposal amounting to 17 billion dollars from a company whose name remains unknown.
In early June, Zendesk reached the end of an agreement to buy the survey management and market research platform Momentive, formerly SurveyMonkey. Fixed at 4.1 billion dollars, this acquisition was rejected by the activist fund Jana Partners, one of their shareholders. Specializing in event investing, Jana believed the takeover would slow Zendesk’s growth and diminish buyer interest in the company. Following this categorical refusal, the Danish company declared that it wanted to stay away from all proposals in order to remain independent.
With 3% of the company’s shares, Jana Partners is putting pressure on Zendesk. the wall street journal reports that the fund would like the reshuffle of the board of directors. The departure of Mikkel Svane from his position as CEO would be one of their main demands.