SAP has agreed to sell its remaining 423 million shares of Qualtrics International Inc as part of the acquisition of Qualtrics by funds affiliated with Silver Lake as well as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The acquisition values Qualtrics at approximately $12.5bn and SAP’s stake with be acquired for $7.7bn.
Silver Lake and its co-investors, together with CPP Investments will acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares Silver Lake does not already own, including the entirety of SAP’s majority ownership interest.
Under terms of the agreement, which resulted from a process that was originally initiated on 26th January, Qualtrics shareholders including SAP, will receive $18.15 in cash per share, representing a 73 percent over the 30-day average trading price prior to SAP’s announcement to explore sale.
This news follows from the previous announcement in 2021 where Qualtrics filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with plans to sell an undetermined number of shares for $20 to $24 each, only two years after being acquired by SAP.
Since SAP’s purchase back in 2019 for $8bn, Qualtrics’ software users have almost doubled, rising by over 8,000. Back in January, SAP CEO Christian Klein had said that the Qualtrics stake sale was part of a “targeted restructuring in select areas of the company.”
Qualtrics will continue to be led by CEO, Zig Serafin and the company will remain headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle, Washington. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
Christian Klein, CEO and member of the executive board of SAP SE, commented: “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’ success.”
“Qualtrics is becoming central to how businesses make mission critical customer and employee decisions that increase revenue and operational efficiency. With our AI-powered platform and automated actions, we help companies deliver exceptional experiences and build deep relationships with their customers and employees at scale,” said Zig Serafin, CEO at Qualtrics. “We are incredibly excited to partner with the team at Silver Lake, who deeply understand our business and will help us continue to build a high performing company, invest in our innovation and expand our ecosystem to help our customers succeed.”
