The deal is expected to enable Zendesk to create one of the major customer intelligence companies
Momentive to be acquired by Zendesk. (Credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay)
Zendesk, a US-based customer relationship management (CRM) company, has agreed to acquire Momentive, the developer of the SurveyMonkey platform, for a price of around $28 per share in an all-stock deal.
The value of the deal has been reported by Reuters to be $4bn.
Based in California, Momentive is a publicly-listed agile experience management company. It offers enterprise solutions for agile experience management and insights through three product brands, which include Momentive, SurveyMonkey, and GetFeedback.
The Momentive brand offers an artificial intelligence (AI) powered platform to help enterprises in their market research. SurveyMonkey is a survey platform while GetFeedback is a customer experience (CX) platform.
According to Zendesk, the deal will enable it to create one of the major customer intelligence companies that will connect what customers say and do, with how they think and feel.
Founded in Denmark, and currently publicly listed in the US, Zendesk offers SaaS-based products related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications.
As per the terms of the all-stock deal, Momentive’s stockholders will be issued 0.225 shares of Zendesk for each share of Momentive.
Zendesk CEO and founder Mikkel Svane said: “The SurveyMonkey brand is iconic and we’ve admired their business from afar since the inception of Zendesk. They truly democratised an industry—almost everyone in the world has responded to one of their surveys at some point.
“We’re very excited to have them join the Zendesk mission along with Momentive’s market research and insights products and together create a powerful new Customer Intelligence company. We will deliver a rich, colourful picture of every customer so businesses really understand their customers and can build more authentic relationships.”
After the completion of the deal, Zendesk’s shareholders will own nearly 78% of the enlarged company, while Momentive’s shareholders will hold the remaining 22% stake.
The deal has been approved by the boards of directors of both firms.
Momentive CEO Zander Lurie said: “This is a testament to the strength of our agile products and talented team. Zendesk and Momentive share a culture centred around our people, our communities and the customers we serve.
“The synergies between our companies are proximate and compelling. We are uniquely positioned to make Customer Intelligence a reality while delivering significant value for our shareholders.”
The deal is contingent on the approvals of shareholders of both the companies, regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. Following these, it is expected to close in the first half of next year.