SAN FRANCISCO & SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) and Momentive (NASDAQ: MNTV) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Zendesk will acquire Momentive, including its iconic SurveyMonkey platform. The terms of the transaction provide for Momentive stockholders to receive 0.225 shares of Zendesk stock for each share of Momentive stock, a ratio which represents an implied value of approximately $28 per outstanding share of Momentive stock based on the 15-day volume weighted average price of Zendesk common stock up to and including October 26, 2021.
Zendesk expects the combination to be growth accretive in its first full operating year and accelerate Zendesk’s revenue plan to $3.5 billion in 2024, one year ahead of its previous target. The companies’ respective sizable customer bases and complementary capabilities are expected to provide significant opportunity for joint product adoption and increasing Momentive’s enterprise traction. Zendesk will reinvest savings from scale efficiencies into compelling growth opportunities to support the combination. Upon the close of the transaction, Momentive CEO Zander Lurie will continue to lead Momentive’s strong management team.
“The SurveyMonkey brand is iconic and we’ve admired their business from afar since the inception of Zendesk. They truly democratized an industry—almost everyone in the world has responded to one of their surveys at some point,” said Mikkel Svane, CEO & Founder, Zendesk. “We’re very excited to have them join the Zendesk mission along with Momentive’s market research and insights products and together create a powerful new Customer Intelligence company. We will deliver a rich, colorful picture of every customer so businesses really understand their customers and can build more authentic relationships.”
“We look forward to combining with Zendesk to advance our mission and accelerate our long-term growth strategy,” said Zander Lurie, CEO, Momentive. “This is a testament to the strength of our agile products and talented team. Zendesk and Momentive share a culture centered around our people, our communities and the customers we serve. The synergies between our companies are proximate and compelling. We are uniquely positioned to make Customer Intelligence a reality while delivering significant value for our shareholders.”
Acquisition to Create Powerful New Customer Intelligence Company
In today’s digital-first economy, it is imperative to build more meaningful relationships with customers. Meaning comes from a deep understanding of the customer and their experiences. Although businesses often have an endless supply of data, they lack actionable and personalized customer intelligence. Instead, businesses are left with a picture of the customer that is one dimensional, impersonal and incomplete.
Zendesk pioneered the ability to respond to what customers say and do, making it easier to deliver superior customer service. Momentive is a leader in capturing how customers think and feel, helping companies make critical decisions quickly and confidently.
With Momentive, Zendesk will create what businesses really need—a customer intelligence company that connects what customers say and do, with how they think and feel. The combination will give businesses the ability to:
- Listen to your customers: Collect critical information about customer needs, experiences and expectations
- Develop a rich picture: Bring a customer into focus by combining transactional data with market research and insights for the context to truly understand them
- Act on insights: Empower teams to take action with the full breadth of data about their customers as well as feedback and market insights to improve customer interactions
Transaction Terms
Following a comprehensive review, the boards of directors of Zendesk and Momentive have approved the transaction.
The terms of the transaction provide for Momentive stockholders to receive 0.225 shares of Zendesk stock for each share of Momentive stock, a ratio which represents an implied value of approximately $28 per outstanding share of Momentive stock based on the 15-day volume weighted average price of Zendesk common stock up to and including October 26, 2021. Upon closing of the transaction, Zendesk stockholders will own approximately 78% of the combined company and Momentive stockholders will own approximately 22% of the combined company. The transaction, which is anticipated to close in the first half of 2022, is subject to approval by Zendesk stockholders and Momentive stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Zendesk has published a presentation to provide an overview of the transaction, available on both Zendesk and Momentive’s investor relations websites. Additional details and information about the terms and conditions of the transaction will be available in Current Reports on Form 8-K to be filed by Zendesk and Momentive with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Quarterly Financial Results
In separate press releases issued today, Zendesk announced financial results for the third quarter of 2021 and Momentive announced preliminary results for its third quarter of 2021. Momentive will issue a press release to share its full third quarter financial results on November 9, 2021.
Conference Call and Webcast
Today at 2:00 p.m. (PT) / 5:00 p.m. (ET), Zendesk will host a conference call to discuss its Q321 earnings and the transaction. The live video webcast can be accessed through Zendesk investor relations website at https://investor.zendesk.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 12 months.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as lead financial advisor and Centerview Partners LLC is also serving as financial advisor to Zendesk. Hogan Lovells US LLP is serving as legal counsel to Zendesk. Allen & Company LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are serving as equal lead financial advisors and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professional Corporation is serving as legal counsel to Momentive.
About Momentive
Momentive (formerly SurveyMonkey) is a leader in agile experience management, delivering powerful, purpose-built solutions that bring together the best parts of humanity and technology to redefine AI. Momentive products, including GetFeedback, SurveyMonkey, and its brand and market insights solutions, empower decision-makers at 345,000 organizations worldwide to shape exceptional experiences. More than 20 million active users rely on Momentive to fuel market insights, brand insights, employee experience, customer experience, and product experience. Ultimately, the company’s vision is to raise the bar for human experiences by amplifying individual voices. Learn more at www.momentive.ai.
About Zendesk
Zendesk started the customer experience revolution in 2007 by enabling any business around the world to take their customer service online. Today, Zendesk is the champion of great service everywhere for everyone, and powers billions of conversations, connecting more than 100,000 brands with hundreds of millions of customers over telephony, chat, email, messaging, social channels, communities, review sites and help centers. Zendesk products are built with love to be loved. The company was conceived in Copenhagen, Denmark, built and grown in California, taken public in New York City, and today employs more than 5,000 people across the world. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication relates to a proposed business combination transaction between Zendesk and Momentive. In connection with the proposed transaction, Zendesk intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of Zendesk and Momentive and that also will constitute a prospectus of Zendesk with respect to shares of Zendesk’s common stock to be issued in the proposed transaction (the “joint proxy statement/prospectus”). The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) will be delivered to Zendesk’s stockholders and Momentive’s stockholders. Each of Zendesk and Momentive may also file other relevant documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF ZENDESK AND MOMENTIVE ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.
Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) and other documents that are filed or will be filed with the SEC by Zendesk or Momentive through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed by Zendesk with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at Zendesk’s investor relations website at https://investor.zendesk.com or upon written request to Zendesk, Inc. at 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Momentive will be available free of charge by accessing Momentive’s investor relations website at https://investor.momentive.ai or upon written request to Momentive at investors@momentive.ai.
Participants in the Solicitation
Zendesk, Momentive, their respective directors and certain of their respective executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the respective stockholders of Zendesk and Momentive in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about Zendesk’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Company common stock is set forth in Zendesk’s proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 2, 2021. Information about Momentive’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Momentive’s common stock is set forth in Momentive’s proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 20, 2021. To the extent that holdings of Zendesk’s or Momentive’s securities have changed since the amounts printed in Zendesk’s or Momentive’s proxy statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of the participants in the proxy solicitations will be contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus when it becomes available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, the anticipated impact of the proposed transaction on the combined company’s business and future financial and operating results, the expected amount and timing of anticipated synergies from the proposed transaction, the anticipated timing of closing of the proposed transaction and other aspects of Zendesk’s or Momentive’s operations or operating results. Words such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “project,” and similar phrases that denote future expectations or intent regarding the combined company’s financial results, operations, and other matters are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this communication, including (i) the ability to complete the proposed transaction within the time frame anticipated or at all; (ii) the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction or those benefits taking longer than anticipated to be realized; (iii) the risk that uncertainty about the proposed transaction may adversely affect relationships with our customers, partners, suppliers, and employees, whether or not the transaction is completed; (iv) the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction on the ability of Zendesk or Momentive to retain and hire key personnel; (v) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Zendesk’s or Momentive’s business, including current plans and operations; (vi) potential litigation related to the proposed transaction and the resulting expense or delay; (vii) the failure to obtain stockholder or regulatory approvals in a timely manner or otherwise; (viii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of Zendesk or Momentive to terminate the proposed transaction; (ix) the diversion of the attention of the respective management teams of Zendesk and Momentive from their respective ongoing business operations; (x) the ability of Zendesk to successfully integrate Momentive’s operations and technologies; (xi) the ability of Zendesk to implement its plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect to its business after the completion of the transaction and realize expected synergies; (xii) the effect of uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. and global markets, Zendesk’s or Momentive’s respective business, operations, revenue, cash flow, operating expenses, hiring, demand for their respective solutions, sales cycles, customer retention, and their respective customers’ businesses and industries; (xiii) risks relating to the market value of Zendesk’s common stock to be issued in the proposed transaction; (xiv) Zendesk’s ability to adapt its products to changing market dynamics and customer preferences or achieve increased market acceptance of its products; (xv) the intensely competitive market in which Zendesk operates; (xvi) the development of the market for software as a service business software applications; (xvii) Zendesk’s substantial reliance on its customers renewing their subscriptions and purchasing additional subscriptions; (xviii) Zendesk’s ability to effectively market and sell its products to larger enterprises; (xix) Zendesk’s ability to develop or acquire and market new products and to support its products on a unified, reliable shared services platform; (xx) Zendesk’s reliance on third-party services, including services for hosting, email, and messaging; (xxi) Zendesk’s ability to retain key employees and attract qualified personnel, particularly in the primary regions Zendesk operates; (xxii) Zendesk’s ability to effectively manage its growth and organizational change, including its international expansion strategy; (xxiii) Zendesk’s expectation that the future growth rate of its revenues will decline, and that, as its costs increase, Zendesk may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to achieve or sustain profitability; (xxiv) Zendesk’s ability to integrate acquired businesses and technologies successfully or achieve the expected benefits of such acquisitions; (xxv) real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs in Zendesk’s products; (xxvi) potential service interruptions or performance problems associated with Zendesk’s technology and infrastructure; (xxvii) Zendesk’s ability to securely maintain customer data and prevent, mitigate, and respond effectively to both historical and future data breaches; (xxviii) Zendesk’s ability to comply with privacy and data security regulations; (xxix) Zendesk’s ability to optimize the pricing for its solutions; and (xxx) other adverse changes in general economic or market conditions. The forward-looking statements contained in this communication are also subject to additional risks, uncertainties, and factors, including those described in Zendesk’s and Momentive’s respective Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2021 and other documents filed by either of them from time to time with the SEC. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. Zendesk and Momentive do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made in this communication to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act.