As per the terms of the deal, Silver Lake and its co-investors along with CPP Investments will acquire 100% of the outstanding Qualtrics shares that are not owned by the former for $18.15 per share in cash
Qualtrics to be acquired by Silver Lake and CPP Investments in $12.5bn deal. (Credit: Ben P L from Provo, USA/Wikimedia Commons)
US-based experience management (XM) software company Qualtrics International has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) at a valuation of about $12.5bn.
Currently, Qualtrics is listed on the Nasdaq with SAP being its majority owner.
As per the terms of the agreement, Silver Lake and its co-investors along with CPP Investments will acquire 100% of the outstanding Qualtrics shares that are not owned by the former for $18.15 per share in cash.
SAP, which holds 423 million shares in the experience management software company, will sell its stake for around $7.7bn.
The consideration from Silver Lake and CPP Investments represents a premium of 73% to the 30-day volume-weighted average price on 25 January 2023.
Following the completion of the transaction, Qualtrics will become an independent, privately held company and its common stock will no longer be listed on any public market.
The deal follows last week’s buyout offer by Silver Lake and CPP Investments to Qualtrics and subsequent negotiations.
Founded in 2002, Qualtrics offers cloud-native software to support companies in rapidly discovering and resolving the areas of friction across all digital and human touchpoints in their operations.
The company was acquired by SAP in 2019 and about two years later went public.
SAP executive board member and CEO Christian Klein said: “Silver Lake has both the operational expertise and the track record with software companies to help Qualtrics extend its leadership in the XM category it pioneered.
“Since we acquired Qualtrics in 2019 the company has more than tripled its revenue while delivering profitability.
“SAP intends to remain a close go-to-market and technology partner, servicing joint customers and continuing to contribute to Qualtrics’s success. The number of companies and brands using Qualtrics software has risen from 10,000 at the time of SAP’s purchase to over 18,000 today.”
The deal is fully funded by equity commitments from Silver Lake and co-investors along with $1.75bn in equity from CPP Investments and $1bn in debt.
Subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to be complete in the second half of this year.