Qualtrics International

Qualtrics International is an American software developer that collects data on customers, employees, products and brands via the Internet. Information is analyzed to conduct market research, assess customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty, and test products and concepts. Qualtrics works in the field of consumer experience management (Customer Experience Management - activities aimed at creating and enriching consumer experience, includes analysis, optimization and transfer of valuable experience to customers).

By November 2018, Qualtrics has 9 thousand customers, including about 75% of the companies included in the Fortune 100 rating. From 2002 to November 2018, the vendor raised a total of $450 million in investments, including from such large venture capital funds as Accel, Insight Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. 

Performance indicators

2017: Profit $2.6 million, revenue $289.9 million

In 2017, Qualtrics's profit amounted to $2.6 million, and revenue - $289.9 million. The company predicts more than $400 million in sales for 2018, excluding potential synergies from joining SAP.

History

2023: SAP sells Qualtrics for $7.7 billion

In mid-March 2023, SAP announced the sale of all its shares in the American company Qualtrics International. The buyers are funds affiliated with the Silver Lake investment company, as well as CPP Investments (Canada Pension Fund Investment Board). The transaction value is $7.7 billion.

2021

Buying a software developer to collect customer feedback on Clarabridge products for $1.1 billion

On July 29, 2021, Qualtrics International announced the acquisition of Clarabridge, a private company. The transaction value was $1.1 billion. Read more here.

Going public on Nasdaq

At the end of January 2021, Qualtrics International went public with its shares on the Nasdaq floor under the ticker symbol XM. The data analysis software manufacturer intends to spend the funds raised thanks to the IPO to pay off debts to SAP America (the amount of debt is measured at $1.76 billion), replenishment of working capital and other general corporate goals.

As part of the IPO, the company sells 50.4 million shares, while it previously planned 49.2 million units. Initially, SAP calculated the sale of subsidiary securities for $20-24, subsequently - for $22-26, but before the listing, the range was increased to $27-29. Taking into account these indicators, the maximum market capitalization of $14.6 billion and the attraction of up to $1.46 billion through the initial public offering of shares was obtained.

By the opening of the Nasdaq exchange on Thursday, January 28, 2021, the Qualtrics quotation rate was $41.85, an increase of 40% compared to the final price chosen for the IPO of $30. At the time of the closure of the trading platform, the value of one share of the company reached $45.5 (+ 51%), and the market capitalization - $27.3 billion.

SAP put subsidiary Qualtrics on the stock exchange

It is also planned to earn another $550 million as part of a parallel private placement with the participation of the investment company Silver Lake and its affiliates.

Shortly before Qualtrics went public, co-founder Ryan Smith bought 6 million shares in a private offering at a price of $20 apiece. Even if the IPO had passed at a price of $27, Smith's investments for the month would have brought him $42 million in profit, notes. In Bloomberg 2020, Ryan Smith bought National Basketball Association the Utah Jazz team for $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Companies, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan BofA Securities,,,, Barclays,, Deutsche Bank Goldman Sachs BMO HSBC Citi Capital Markets and Truist Securities are selected as IPO bookrunners. After the listing, SAP remained Qualtrics' largest shareholder.^[1]

2020: U.S. Public Offering Plans

On July 27, 2020, it became known that SAP SE plans to hold a public offering of Qualtrics (IPO) in the United States. Qualtrics is a company in the field of experience management, has created the Experience Management (XM) line in the market, which has been growing over the past few years. SAP will remain the majority owner of Qualtrics. The main task of the IPO is to maximize the market potential in the category of experience management, provide Qualtrics with greater autonomy and expand its presence both within the SAP client base and beyond.

The acquisition of Qualtrics was a huge success for SAP, exceeding expectations. In 2019, cloud technologies showed large growth, exceeding 40%. Working together with Ryan Smith and Zig Serafin, we decided on the need for an IPO, this will allow Qualtrics to significantly strengthen the category of experience management, provide the best service to customers, analyze strategy, develop expertise and best practices. SAP will remain Qualtrics' primary partner in R&D and market entry, while providing Qualtrics with greater independence to expand its own base through partnerships and build an experience management ecosystem.

Qualtrics, part of SAP's cloud portfolio, operates with greater autonomy than other companies previously acquired by SAP. Qualtrics' founder and current management team continue to lead the company.

It was important for us that, thanks to the Qualtrics XM platform, as many companies as possible could make informed and informed decisions. The partnership with SAP has become unprecedented in importance and reach, it helps us build the CM ecosystem for the widest possible range of partners.

SAP acquired Qualtrics four days before the planned IPO in 2018, the joint efforts of the companies are expanding the ability to manage customer experience through the implementation of end-to-end processes and operational management systems. SAP sees the Qualtrics XM platform as a key element of the intelligent enterprise concept.

As of July 2020, SAP owns a 100% stake in Qualtrics. SAP will retain a majority stake in Qualtrics, Ryan Smith plans to become a major shareholder in Qualtrics.

The final decision on the IPO, its terms and terms for July 27, 2020 has not been made and depends on the market situation.

2019: SAP-Qualtrics Deal Complete

On January 25, 2019, SAP announced the completion of the purchase of Qualtrics International Inc, which specializes in customer experience management. Ryen Smith will remain as head of a company that maintains its market position, culture and values and will operate as a unified team within SAP's Cloud Business Group.

According to SAP, consolidating Qualtrics data and SAP operational data will enable customers to manage supply chains, networks, employees, and core processes more efficiently. Together, SAP and Qualtrics are expected to be able to create a solution that makes it easier to work with customer and employee opinions as well as brand and product feedback. And involving 413 thousand SAP customers and 15 thousand Qualtrics customers will quickly scale the solution to the whole world.

2018: SAP buys Qualtrics for $8bn

On November 11, 2018, SAP announced the purchase of Qualtrics for $8 billion a few days before the planned IPO of the acquired company.

The takeover of Qualtrics will give SAP an advantage over competitors who still use outdated settlement methods when assessing customer turnover, etc., says Bill McDermott, CEO of the German company.

Morally outdated players who transferred the technologies created in the 90s to the 21st century were simply blown away, he said in a conversation with Reuters.

The head of SAP also added that Qualtrics has completed the formation of its portfolio of software products and increased its share in the software market offered through cloud subscriptions.

SAP bought for $8 billion developer of online feedback analysis software

Qualitics intended to conduct an IPO in mid-November 2018 and raise up to $495 million as part of this procedure. Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith, who owns about 40% of the company's shares with his brother and father, told Reuters that he believes the initial public offering would have valued Qualitics at at least $6 billion. According to the results of the last round of financing, the company was estimated by investors at $2.5 billion.

We aimed to achieve an estimate of $20 billion or $30 billion, like ServiceNow and Workday. We have not experienced financial pressure during any work, "noted Smith, who will remain an executive at Qualtrics.

Qualtrics will retain two headquarters - in Utah and Seattle (USA ). The deal is scheduled to close in the first half of 2019. Qualtrics will operate as an independent company, but as part of the SAP Cloud Business Group.

Supported by a global team of more than 95,000 people, SAP will help us scale faster and fulfill our mission at a broader level, Smith said.

The Qualtrics purchase is the second largest for SAP after acquiring spending management software maker Concur for $8.3 billion in 2014.

Bill McDermott called the Qualtrics acquisition transformative in terms of potential growth and compared the deal to the company's takeover of the photo service Instagram. Facebook

According to McDermott, prior to the announcement of the Qualtrics purchase, he met Ryan Smith and the two quickly became friends. McDermott was visiting Smith's house for dinner. After eating, they played basketball in the yard.

SAP will buy back all outstanding Qualtrics shares and raise funding in the amount of 7 billion euros to complete the transaction and cover all related expenses.^[2]

Notes