SAP announced the acquisition of Qualtrics International, a global leader in experience management (XM) solutions for businesses. Qualtrics offers a technological platform that helps companies to organize, collect, manage and analyze experience data. Company’s proprietary solution Qualtrics XM Platform™ is a powerful tool for managing the four main types of experiences of businesses – customer, product, employee, and brand.
SAP will pay $8 Bn in cash for all outstanding shares of Qualtrics in an attempt to combine experience management with operational data. Following the closing of the transaction, the acquired company is expected to maintain its leadership, personnel, branding, and culture, remaining an independent entity within SAP’s Business Cloud Group.
SAP’s CEO Bill McDermott explained the deal as an attempt to change the nature of the industry:
“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.”
Ryan Smith, CEO of Qualtrics International, believes the deal will accelerate Qualtrics’ development:
“With 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.”
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 both SAP and Qualtrics, as well as Qualtrics’ shareholders, have approved the transaction.
