Private Equity Firm Silver Lake & Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Completes $12.5 Billion Acquisition of Qualtrics from SAP
7th July 2023 | Hong Kong
Private equity firm Silver Lake & Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has completed the $12.5 billion acquisition of Qualtrics from SAP. Qualtrics: “Silver Lake and its co-investors, together with CPP Investments, have acquired 100% of the outstanding shares in Qualtrics that Silver Lake does not already own, including the entirety of SAP’s majority ownership interest. With the completion of the transaction, Qualtrics stockholders, including SAP, are entitled to receive $18.15 in cash for each share of Qualtrics common stock they owned. Qualtrics’ common stock has ceased trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange.” Qualtrics is a cloud-native software provider that helps organizations quickly identify and resolve points of friction across all digital and human touchpoints in their business so they can retain their best customers and employees, protect their revenue, and drive profitability. More than 19,000 organizations around the world use Qualtrics’ advanced AI. More info below.
“ Private Equity Firm Silver Lake & Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Completes $12.5 Billion Acquisition of Qualtrics from SAP “
Private Equity Firm Silver Lake & Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Completes $12.5 Billion Acquisition of Qualtrics from SAP

28th June 2023 – Qualtrics, the leader and creator of the experience management (XM) software category, today announced the completion of its acquisition by Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).
Silver Lake and its co-investors, together with CPP Investments, have acquired 100% of the outstanding shares in Qualtrics that Silver Lake does not already own, including the entirety of SAP’s majority ownership interest. With the completion of the transaction, Qualtrics stockholders, including SAP, are entitled to receive $18.15 in cash for each share of Qualtrics common stock they owned. Qualtrics’ common stock has ceased trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
“XM has never been more important than it is right now. To be able to go into this next chapter at our size and scale as the leader in experience management— and do it alongside some of the best investors in the world—is a part of the Qualtrics story that no one could have imagined,” said Ryan Smith, Qualtrics Founder and Executive Chairman. “I couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter for Qualtrics.”
“Qualtrics has cemented its position as the leader in experience management, and our AI-powered platform is helping more than 19,000 organizations deliver exceptional experiences and build deep relationships with their customers and employees at scale,” said Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin. “Silver Lake’s deep understanding of our business and vision for Experience Management, combined with their strategic and operational expertise and the support of our other investors, creates an incredible opportunity for Qualtrics to accelerate our innovation and category leadership.”
“We believe deeply in the incredible opportunity ahead for Qualtrics as they continue to pave the way as the leader in experience management,” said Egon Durban, Co-CEO of Silver Lake. “The leadership team has a powerful vision, and we are excited to continue our partnership with Ryan and Zig alongside the other investors to support Qualtrics as it realizes its full potential as an independent, private company.”
“This is a unique opportunity to invest in a category creator led by a strong management team that is shaping a rapidly growing market,” said Hafiz Lalani, Managing Director and Head of Direct Private Equity at CPP Investments. “We look forward to supporting the Qualtrics team in driving continued innovation as they help clients re-define their customer and employee experiences around the world.”
Accel and BDT & MSD Partners Invest in Qualtrics Alongside
In connection with the close, Accel, a global venture capital firm, as well as BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors; and DFO Management, the family investment office of Michael Dell, have joined Silver Lake in investing in Qualtrics. Accel, which was one of Qualtrics’ earliest investors, has invested $500 million. BDT & MSD Partners and DFO Management have each made a co-investment of $250 million, for an aggregate commitment of $500 million.
Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Qualtrics, and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to a Qualtrics committee of independent directors and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP acted as legal advisor. J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisors, with regard to the transaction and to the debt financing, respectively, to Silver Lake and CPP Investments.
About Qualtrics
Qualtrics, the leader and creator of the experience management category, is a cloud-native software provider that helps organizations quickly identify and resolve points of friction across all digital and human touchpoints in their business – so they can retain their best customers and employees, protect their revenue, and drive profitability. More than 19,000 organizations around the world use Qualtrics’ advanced AI to listen, understand, and take action. Qualtrics uses its vast universe of experience data to form the largest database of human sentiment in the world. Qualtrics is co-headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle and operates out of 28 offices globally. To learn more, please visit qualtrics.com.
About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $98 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $276 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 710,000 people globally.
About CPP Investments
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Fund in the best interest of the 21 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, investments are made around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At March 31, 2023, the Fund totalled C$570 billion.
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