Zendesk gets acquired for US$10.2bn, to operate as private entity

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Zendesk has been acquired by an investor group led by leading global investment firms Permira and Hellman & Friedman LLC for approximately US$10.2 billion. The all-cash transaction will also see the company's shareholders receive US$77.50 per share. According to a statement by Zendesk, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year and it will operate as a privately-held company.

Mikkel Svane, founder, chairman and CEO, Zendesk said that this marks a new chapter for Zendesk with partners aligned with the strength of our agile products and talented team, and are committed to providing the resources and expertise to continue its growth trajectory.

"With Hellman & Friedman and Permira’s support, we’ll continue to execute on our long-term strategy with our customers as our top priority, taking full advantage of the opportunity we see to help businesses navigate the ever-changing expectations and demands of their customers," he added.

Separately, Zendesk acquired Momentive and its SurveyMonkey platform last October, with the move expected to be growth accretive in its first full operating year and accelerate Zendesk's revenue plan to US$3.5 billion in 2024, one year ahead of its previous target. According to Zendesk then, the companies' respective sizable customer bases and complementary capabilities were expected to provide significant opportunities for joint product adoption and increase Momentive’s enterprise traction.

The acquisition came alongside Zendesk's latest financial results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2020. Its revenue grew 32% of the period year period to US$347.0 million and the company now expects to report revenue in the range of US$366 to US$372 million for the quarter ending 31 December last year. The company also appointed Carolyn Camoens as its APAC director of communications last September. In her new role, Camoens reports to Stephanie Barnes, VP, communications at Zendesk.

The company was founded in 2007 in Denmark and aims to revolutionise customer experience. It has more than 6,000 employees worldwide today and some of the Asia cities it is present in include Singapore, India, Indonesia, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand.

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