After two years as a publicly traded company, Qualtrics announced Sunday it will go private in a $12.5 billion acquisition deal.
Dual headquartered in Seattle and Provo, Utah, Qualtrics went public in 2021 after spinning off from former parent company SAP.
Qualtrics has now entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake in partnership with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Under the acquisition deal, Silver Lake, its co-investors and Canada Pension Plan will buy out all remaining Qualtrics shares, including those held by SAP, at $18.15 per share. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Qualtrics was founded in 2002 as a survey tool for academic researchers but has since evolved into an experience management software. The company has helped 16,000 companies, including 88 percent of the Fortune 100, gather and analyze data about customer experience, employee engagement and brand awareness, according to Qualtrics’ website.
“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,” Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin said in a statement. “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.”
