Zendesk to buy SurveyMonkey and its parent company Momentive

Customer-experience technology firm Zendesk has reached a deal to buy Momentive, formerly known as SurveyMonkey, which owns the well known survey and feedback platform along with other enterprise software.

The companies say the merger is aimed at combining expertise and capabilities in customer service and customer feedback into a single, more powerful customer-intelligence company. 

“The SurveyMonkey brand is iconic and we’ve admired their business from afar since the inception of Zendesk," Mikkel Svane, CEO and founder of Zendesk, said in a release. "They truly democratized an industry—almost everyone in the world has responded to one of their surveys at some point. We’re very excited to have them join the Zendesk mission, along with Momentive’s market research and insights products, and together create a powerful new customer intelligence company. We will deliver a rich, colorful picture of every customer so businesses really understand their customers and can build more authentic relationships.”

Both companies are publicly traded on US stock exhanges. The deal will see Momentive shareholders receive 0.225 shares of Zendesk stock for each Momentive share, representing an implied value of $28 per Momentive share, putting the total deal price tag near $4 billion.

Subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal is expected to close by the first half of 2022. Once approved, Momentive CEO Zander Lurie will continue to lead Momentive’s business and management team. 

Zendesk is best known for helping businesses take their customer service online, connecting brand and customers over phone, chat, email, messaging, social channels, communities, review sites and help centers. 

In a release, the companies said their combination will allow Zendesk to connect what customers say and do, with how they think and feel. Businesses will be able to better listen to customers by collecting more information from them, developing a richer picture through combining transactional data with research and insights. 

"Although businesses often have an endless supply of data, they lack actionable and personalized customer intelligence. Instead, businesses are left with a picture of the customer that is one-dimensional, impersonal and incomplete," Zendesk said. "In today’s digital-first economy, it is imperative to build more meaningful relationships with customers. Meaning comes from a deep understanding of the customer and their experiences."

Aside from SurveyMonkey, Momentive products include GetFeedback and other brand and market insight platforms. Sheryl Sandberg and Serena Williams sit on Momentive's board of directors.

“We look forward to combining with Zendesk to advance our mission and accelerate our long-term growth strategy,” said Zander Lurie, CEO of Momentive. "The synergies between our companies are proximate and compelling. We are uniquely positioned to make customer intelligence a reality while delivering significant value for our shareholders.”

Zendesk expects the acquisition to start growing its business in the first full operating year, speeding up its revenue plan to hit $3.5 billion in 2024, a year ahead of target. 

In a separate release, Zendesk announced a third quarter operating loss of $39 million with revenue rising 32% on year to $347 million.