A consortium led by Symphony Technology Group (STG) is set to acquire Momentive Global for $1.5BN.
Momentive, which created SurveyMonkey and offers insights management solutions, entered into a definitive agreement to sell out to the consortium for an all-cash transaction.
The deal is a considerable drop from the $4.1BN offered by Zendesk in October 2021.
Zander Lurie, Momentive CEO, commented:
This new chapter will enable Momentive to advance our long-term strategy and mission.
“STG’s 20 years of investment experience in software, analytics, and data companies will provide us with invaluable expertise as we scale our customer base and product suite.
“Today’s volatile business climate necessitates that organizations consistently collect feedback from their stakeholders. That’s where we shine.”
As part of the agreement, shareholders will receive $9.46 per share, which consists of a 28 percent premium of the average closing price of the company’s stock for ten days of trading ending on March 13th.
Also, it includes a 46 percent premium on its closing stock price the day before media rumors of the sale began on October 19th last year.
The transaction is expected to complete in the second or third quarter of 2023, subject to conditions, which include the approval of Momentive shareholders and regulatory approvals.
David Ebersman, Chair of the Momentive Board of Directors, said: “The transaction is the result of an extensive and careful process to review strategic alternatives by the Momentive board.
“The board believes this is the right path for delivering certain and attractive value for shareholders.
The Momentive board voted unanimously in favor of the transaction.
Following the transaction, Momentive’s stock will be delisted from public markets.
The company will continue to trade under the same name, as well as use the Momentive and SurveyMonkey brands.
J.T. Treadwell, Managing Director at STG, said: “SurveyMonkey is the most iconic brand in survey technology and has a terrific reputation among individuals, teams, and enterprises for innovation and leadership, with an impressive combination of incredible ease of use and advanced enterprise capabilities and analytics.
“We have long admired the company during our 20-year history of active investment in the insights and analytics sector, and are very excited to partner with the team at Momentive to build upon their excellent foundation.
Together, we will continue delivering exceptional value and innovation to individuals and enterprises globally.
A Much-Reduced Price Tag
Whether or not this is a welcome deal for Momentive, it represents a significant reduction in value compared to Zendesk’s offer of $4.1BN, which fell through last year. However, it will still be fresh in the minds of Momentive investors.
In the end, Zendesk’s stockholders did not approve the transaction, but the two companies continued to work together, announcing the “GetFeedback integration with Zendesk” in July 2022.
Momentive’s solutions are implemented by millions of users and over 330,000 companies worldwide. The company believes its AI technology and insights are helping to shape the next generation of industries, products, employees, customers, and the marketplace.
STG is a private equity partner working on adding strategic value to data, software, and analytics companies. It is currently partnered with over 50 global companies.
