Consortium Led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira Completes Acquisition of Zendesk

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 22, 2022--

Zendesk, Inc. today announced the completion of its acquisition by an investor group led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira in an all-cash transaction that values the company at approximately $10.2 billion. The acquisition was previously announced on June 24, 2022 and approved by Zendesk stockholders at the Special Meeting of Stockholders held on September 19, 2022.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Zendesk shareholders will receive $77.50 per share in cash. In connection with the completion of the transaction, Zendesk common stock ceased trading and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Zendesk will operate as a privately held company and will remain headquartered in San Francisco.

Advisors

Qatalyst Partners and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors to Zendesk in connection with the transaction. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as Zendesk’s legal advisor.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to the investor group. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP served as M&A counsel to the investor group and to Permira. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as financing counsel to the investor group. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as counsel to Hellman & Friedman.

About Zendesk

Zendesk started the customer experience revolution in 2007 by enabling any business around the world to take their customer service online. Today, Zendesk is the champion of great service everywhere for everyone, and powers billions of conversations, connecting more than 100,000 brands with hundreds of millions of customers over telephony, chat, email, messaging, social channels, communities, review sites and help centers. Zendesk products are built with love to be loved. The company was conceived in Copenhagen, Denmark, built and grown in California, and today employs more than 6,000 people across the world. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

About Hellman & Friedman

Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services.

Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $85 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2022. Learn more about H&F’s defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.

About Permira

Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total assets under management of US$75bn+ and makes long-term majority and minority investments across two core asset classes, private equity and credit. The Permira private equity funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare and Services. Permira employs over 450 people in 16 offices across the United States, Europe and Asia.

The Permira funds have an extensive track record in technology investing, having invested more than US$20bn in over 70 companies across SaaS, cybersecurity, digital commerce, fintech and online marketplaces. The Permira funds have previously backed and helped scale some of the largest and fastest-growing technology businesses globally, including Clearwater Analytics, G2, Genesys, Informatica, Mimecast, McAfee, Seismic and TeamViewer.

For more information, visit www.permira.com or follow the company on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Source: Zendesk, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221122005553/en/

CONTACT: For Zendesk:

Marissa Tree +1 415-609-4510

press@zendesk.com

OR

John Christiansen +1 415-618-8750

Robin Weinberg +1 212-687-8080For H&F:

Winnie Lerner

+1 917-375-5652For Permira:

Nina Suter +44 207 9594037

Nina.Suter@permira.com

James Williams +44 774 7006407

james.williams@permira.com

OR

Megan Bouchier +1 415-595-0651

Julie Rudnick +1 347-563-8203

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERNET VOIP TECHNOLOGY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE

SOURCE: Zendesk, Inc.

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