In mergers-and-acquisitions news, Zendesk terminates a controversial bid to acquire Momentive, while CallTower, Verisk, and Salesforce announce new properties. On the funding front, Bloomreach gets another round of fresh capital. Details follow below.
Zendesk Ends Merger Agreement with Momentive
Zendesk, a provider of customer support and communications software, has officially terminated its plan to merge with Momentive Global, the survey software purveyor formerly known as SurveyMonkey.
A Zendesk statement said the proposed merger of the two California-based companies could not go through after failing to obtain the approval of Zendesk shareholders during a stockholder meeting on February 25. In January, activist investor Jana Partners strongly objected to the deal, first announced in October last year, saying the transaction significantly undervalued Zendesk equity and shareholder capital.
“While we were excited by the potential of this transaction to transform the customer experience and create stockholder value, we respect and appreciate the perspectives of our stockholders,” said Mikkel Svane, CEO and founder of Zendesk, in the company’s statement.
The Zendesk board, he said, remains “laser-focused” on strategy and execution, noting that “business has never been stronger” and that the company was on “a clear path” to generating $3.4 billion in revenue by 2025. Svane said Zendesk revenue grew 30% last year to $1.3 billion.
CallTower Acquires OneStream Networks
CallTower, an international provider of enterprise-class unified communications and contact center solutions headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has acquired OneStream Networks, the Rochester, New York-based voice solutions provider.
In joining forces, CallTower will provide a broader range of global communication solutions and services to existing and future customers, as it will also offer the global cloud-connected and premise-based SIP voice services of OneStream Networks, including Cisco Cloud Connected PSTN, Zoom, Avaya, Genesys, NICE CXone, and Microsoft Direct Routing.
Moreover, the unified organizations will deliver an enhanced international offering. OneStream’s international, in-region direct routing capabilities in Microsoft Teams will augment CallTower’s existing operator connect functionality in Teams.
Finally, the acquisition will enable additional innovative communication pathways for cloud solutions with international data centers, increased service offerings, and enhanced customer experience.
The combined organizations will see a business communications footprint of 11 data centers—seven in the US, two in Europe, and two in Asia.
Verisk Acquires Infutor for Integration with Jornaya
Global data analytics provider Verisk is acquiring Infutor, a provider of identity resolution and consumer intelligence data that Verisk plans to integrate with previous acquisition Jornaya. Together, Infutor and Jornaya will form Verisk Marketing Solutions. Terms of the transaction are not known at this time.
Verisk said demand for Infutor services has spiked as the marketing and advertising communities end their reliance on third-party cookies and switch to first-party data enrichment for heightened privacy and security compliance, which are prevalent concerns in the insurance and financial services industries. Meanwhile, Verisk in December 2020 acquired Jornaya for its proprietary behavioral data in markets like the insurance and lending industries, where consumers make considered purchases.
With both companies integrated into Verisk Marketing Solutions, Infutor’s identity resolution and consumer intelligence solutions will deliver the foundational data layer for understanding customers behind each marketing interaction, while Jornaya will deliver unique insight into in-market behaviors and implement industry-standard solutions on data security and privacy, a statement from Verisk said.
Salesforce to Acquire Traction on Demand
Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Traction on Demand, a partner of more than 14 years in building solutions on the Salesforce platform, with a dedicated Salesforce consulting and application development firm delivering cross-platform strategies and solutions.
With Traction on Demand, Salesforce can better provide customers across all industries, from financial services to communications and across clouds, with products and solutions that meet their needs, a statement from Traction on Demand said.
Traction on Demand will become part of Salesforce Professional Services, which will help customers accelerate time to value and build toward success with the use of the Salesforce Customer 360 platform.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Canada, Traction on Demand also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, India, and the US.
Bloomreach Obtains New $175 Million Investment
Bloomreach, the provider of a platform to create e-commerce experiences based in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, California, said it received a new investment of $175 million, more than doubling the company’s valuation in one year to $2.2 billion.
The new infusion of capital was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with participation from existing Bloomreach investors Bain Capital Ventures and Sixth Street Growth. The current round follows a $150 million investment in January.
Bloomreach said skyrocketing demand for more relevant commerce experiences has fueled record momentum for the company, resulting in 63% growth in new annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2021 and the addition of more than 100 new brands.
Bloomreach also noted substantial growth for its Commerce Experience Cloud, which included the launch of its Content platform for managing storefronts, the release of new features in its Discovery search-and-merchandising pillar, and the introduction of its Engagement customer data platform (CDP) pillar following the company’s acquisition of CDP provider Exponea. Bloomreach plans to use the latest round of funding to invest in the development of cutting-edge personalization use and to continue expanding its go-to-market teams to accelerate business growth worldwide.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
