Zendesk has had a difficult time over the last several months. It has been hounded by activist investors, Jana Partners. It turned down a $17 billion acquisition in February believing it was worth more. Its investors turned down a deal to buy Survey Monkey’s parent company, Momentive the same month.
Today, the drama concluded when Zendesk was acquired for $10.2 billion by a consortium of private equity firms, well below that original offer.
But the SaaS market has shifted dramatically over the last few months, and Zendesk has been caught in the middle of it in a maelstrom of investor drama. Earlier this month, the company concluded it would stay independent, a move that caused the stock price to plunge.
Now it’s been sold to an investor group led by Permira and Hellman & Friedman. Zendesk stock froze at 57.95 per share this morning with a market cap of $7.1 billion. The deal is for $77.50 per share, a 34% premium over yesterday’s price, according to a statement from the company, but still well below the $17 billion private equity offer in February.
More to come. This is a breaking story.