In this latest M&A roundup, among the acquisitions that published financial details of their transactions were two that fetched hundred-million-dollar prices. The buyout by Concentrix of ServiceSource was the larger deal, passing the $130 million mark, followed by OpenWeb’s $100 million acquisition of Adyoulike, a deal involving two New York City-based software platform developers. There was also news of funding-related expansion worth noting: the hiring of high-level sales and marketing executives by AskNicely, following its successful $32 million Series B financing round for the company to fulfill its mission of redefining organizational frontline work. More details follow below.
Concentrix Announces Acquisition of ServiceSource
Concentrix, the global business services company specializing in customer engagement and improving business performance based in Newark, New Jersey, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire ServiceSource International, the Denver, Colorado-headquartered supplier of outsourced go-to-market services on behalf of enterprises worldwide, in a $131 million all-cash transaction, inclusive of ServiceSource net cash. The acquisition of ServiceSource complements Concentrix offerings in a high-value, growing sector of the business to meet strong pent-up demand. The transaction is expected to be accretive to growth and profitability after synergies.
The acquisition marks another milestone for Concentrix, supporting its growth strategy of investing in capabilities that deliver CX for global brands. When the acquisition closes, the ServiceSource team will continue to deliver revenue-generation services powered by data insights and methodologies but via the much larger Concentrix footprint, with the capability to deliver to Concentrix clients as well.
Expected one-time costs related to the transaction will amount to $44 million, which includes approximately $14 million related to ServiceSource unvested equity awards that will be assumed by Concentrix. The acquisition will be financed primarily through cash on the Concentrix balance sheet and by capacity under the buyer’s existing revolving credit facility.
Disqo Acquires Feedback Loop
Disqo, the Los Angeles-based developer and operator of an audience insights platform aimed at discovering consumer thought and action across brand experiences, is acquiring Feedback Loop, the provider of a research platform for rapid consumer feedback headquartered in New York City. The acquisition will accelerate the capability of Disqo in building a platform to spur growth for brands by connecting consumer sentiment to online behavior, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of brand, product, and CX for organizations of all sizes.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition follows the recent Series B funding round of Disqo to further scale the capabilities and reach of its CX platform. The Disqo platform currently drives customer understanding for more than 300 blue-chip brands, 125 of the world’s largest market research firms, 35 major advertising agencies, and more than 20 media platforms.
With the addition of new agile customer feedback and analytics capabilities from Feedback Loop, Disqo clients will be able to validate products, features, and marketing before going to market. In turn, the clients of Feedback Loop—which include Comcast, Experian, Farmers Insurance, and Uber—will be able to obtain faster feedback by accessing the Disqo platform and leveraging its multidimensional customer profiles and measured digital behaviors.
AskNicely Announces New Hires After $32 Million Series B Round
AskNicely, the Portland, Oregon-based provider of a CX platform for the frontline teams of service businesses, recently announced new strategic hires, adding three seasoned sales and marketing executives to its ranks to accelerate the company’s mission in redefining frontline work. Founded in 2014, AskNicely today services more than 1,400 companies worldwide and has offices in the US, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
In the wake of its successful $32 million Series B funding, AskNicely selected Robert Galop as global marketing leader, John Ragsdale as global sales leader, and Fabian Eckstrom-French for business development. The infusion of financial resources, combined with the inputs of an elite team of software and technology veterans, paves the way for AskNicely to begin expanding its network of technology and consulting partners.
Galop brings more than 20 years of hands-on experience across marketing, product development, and product management for high-growth technology and software as a service (SaaS) innovators. Ragsdale previously held senior-level roles on business planning, sales, customer satisfaction, and sales management. Eckstrom-French, meanwhile, is a strategic business development leader with many years of experience helping technology companies achieve rapid growth through strategic alliances and partner ecosystems.
All for One Group Plans to Acquire Poet
To strengthen its expertise in e-commerce and CX, German consulting and IT firm All for One Group SE plans to acquire another German company, CX provider Poet GmbH, with the acquisition planned for the second quarter this year.
The deal will absorb the group of 110 experts currently working for Poet at its headquarters in Karlsruhe in southwestern Germany near the French border, as well as Poet’s development company in Alexandria, Egypt. All for One, headquartered likewise in southwestern Germany near the city of Stuttgart, is seeking to bolster its e-commerce capabilities given Poet’s competences as a service provider for SAP Commerce, a solution built mainly for large enterprises with advanced business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) cases. All for One also wishes to avail of Poet’s deep experience in CX to expand the CX portfolio services of B4B Solutions, an All for One subsidiary.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
OpenWeb Acquires Adyoulike
OpenWeb, the provider of a social engagement platform that builds online communities around digital content, has acquired Adyoulike, the provider of a digital advertising technology platform that creates advertising experiences for users mirroring the websites they are visiting, for $100 million. The acquisition involving the two New York City-based companies will connect the OpenWeb network of more than 1,000 publishers with Adyoulike technology and deliver brand placements to engaged communities via social advertising.
OpenWeb CEO and co-founder Nadav Shoval says that while the company has partnered in the past with top-tier media to build engaged communities in the thousands, its acquisition of Adyoulike will allow OpenWeb to leverage consent-based, first-party data to connect engaged communities on the web with brands. The result, he adds, will be a more sustainable web.
Julien Verdier, an Adyoulike co-founder, describes OpenWeb as a company with an important mission, and says the Adyoulike team is excited to be joining OpenWeb and innovating in power solutions for the open internet.
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.
