Silverlake and CPP Investments to buy Qualtrics for $12.5bn

• Qualtrics’ shareholders, including SAP, will receive $18.15 per share in cash
• That is a 73 percent premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price on January 25
• Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm based in Menlo Park, California

Silver Lake in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Qualtrics in an all-cash transaction for around $12.5 billion.

Qualtrics is a cloud-native software provider that aims to help organizations identify and resolve points of friction across all digital and human touchpoints, according to a release. The firm is co-headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle, Washington.

Silver Lake and its co-investors, along with CPP Investments, will take 100 percent of the outstanding shares that Silver Lake does not own, including the entirety of SAP’s majority ownership interest.

Qualtrics’ shareholders, including SAP, will receive $18.15 per share in cash, a premium of 73 percent to the 30-day volume-weighted average price on January 25, the last trading day before SAP announced it was exploring a sale, and a 62 percent premium relative to the unaffected closing price.

The transaction will be funded by equity commitments from Silver Lake and co-investors combined with $1.75 billion in equity from CPP Investments and $1 billion in debt, the release stated.

“We’re thrilled to support the continued efficient growth of Qualtrics into a generational, highly profitable platform company by enabling further investment across all aspects of the business, including areas such as AI and other powerful new technologies,” said Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake.

The transaction is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Qualtrics and SAP intend to maintain a ‘technology partnership’ to service existing joint customers and target new customer opportunities, the release added.

SAP is a German software company based in Walldorf, Germany.

CPP Investments is an investment management organization based in Toronto, Ontario. The fund totalled $536 billion as of 31 December 2022.

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm that manages over $92 billion in combined assets and committed capital. The firm is based in Menlo Park, California.

JP Morgan served as financial advisor, and Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal advisors to Silver Lake.