SAP has announced that it intends to acquire Qualtrics International, a pioneer of the experience management (XM) software category that enables organisations to thrive in today’s experience economy.
Under the terms of the agreement, SAP will acquire all outstanding shares of Qualtrics for $8-billion in cash. SAP has secured financing in the amount of €7-billion to cover purchase price and acquisition-related costs.
The purchase price includes unvested employee incentive compensation and cash on the balance sheet at close.
Subject to customary closing conditions and attainment of regulatory clearances, the acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2019. The boards of directors of SAP and Qualtrics have approved the transaction. Qualtrics’ shareholders have also approved the transaction.
SAP CEO Bill McDermott comments: “We continually seek out transformational opportunities – today’s announcement is exactly that. Together, SAP and Qualtrics represent a new paradigm, similar to market-making shifts in personal operating systems, smart devices and social networks.
“SAP already touches 77% of the world’s transactions. When you combine our operational data with Qualtrics’ experience data, we will accelerate the XM category with an end-to-end solution with immediate global scale.
“For Qualtrics, this introduces a dynamic new partner with the belief, passion and scale to bring experience management to millions of customers around the world.”
McDermott adds: “The combination of Qualtrics and SAP reaffirms experience management as the groundbreaking new frontier for the technology industry. SAP and Qualtrics are seizing this opportunity as like-minded innovators, united in mission, strategy and culture.
“We share the belief that every human voice holds value, every experience matters and that the best-run businesses can make the world run better. We can’t wait to stand beside Ryan and his amazing colleagues for the next chapters in the experience management story. The best for Qualtrics and SAP is yet to come.”
Ryan Smith, CEO of Qualtrics, said: “Our mission is to help organizations deliver the experiences that turn their customers into fanatics, employees into ambassadors, products into obsessions and brands into religions. Supported by a global team of over 95 000, SAP will help us scale faster and achieve our mission on a broader stage. This will put the XM Platform everywhere overnight. We could not be more excited to join forces with Bill and the SAP team in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to power the experience economy.”
XM focuses on obtaining and tapping the value of outside-in customer, employee, product and brand feedback. Combining Qualtrics’ experience data and insights with SAP’s operational data will enable customers to better manage supply chains, networks, employees and core processes.
Leveraging SAP’s more than 413 000 customers and global salesforce of around 15 000, Qualtrics will be able to scale rapidly around the world. SAP has a strong track record of accelerating growth for the innovative companies it acquires, as exemplified by the rapid success of SAP’s recent acquisitions.
Qualtrics expects full-year 2018 revenue to exceed $400-million and projects a forward growth rate of greater than 40%, not including potential synergies of being part of SAP.
Following the closing of the transaction, Qualtrics is expected to maintain its leadership, personnel, branding and culture, operating as an entity within SAP’s Cloud Business Group. Ryan Smith will continue to lead Qualtrics, and Qualtrics is expected to continue to maintain dual headquarters in Provo, Utah, and Seattle, Washington.