Zendesk, a company that deals in software-as-a-service products, saw its stock (ZEN) take a jump of around 30 percent on Friday. The reason for this surge is recent news that the investor group is close to sealing a $10.2 billion takeover of the company.
ZEN closed at $57.65 per share on Thursday before opening at $75.32 on Friday. It spent the rest of the day in the $73.50 – $75.50 range, indicating that the investors feel good about the proposed move.
The offer made by private equity investors, fronted by Hellman & Friedman and Permira, is expected to pay $77.50 per Zendesk share. The move, which was unanimously approved by Zendesk’s board, will take the company into the private landscape by the end of 2022.
The sale of Zendesk comes several months after the company refused a much bigger offer. In February, a group of investors approached with a bid of around $17 billion. The bid was swiftly rejected with the explanation that it “undervalues the company.” The company also passed on the opportunity to buy software company Momentive Global Inc. (former SurveyMonkey).
Fast forward to June, the company was scrambling to deal with a challenging market and pressure from activist investors like Jana Partners. The sale, even at a discount, ended up becoming the only remaining option to ease the concerns of investors.