SAP buys Qualtrics in $8 billion deal

SAP (NYSE:SAP) acquired Qualtrics International, a survey software manufacturer, in a deal valued at around $8 billion, as the company takes further strides towards a cloud-based business.

In a last-minute deal, the German software company made an all-cash bid to acquire Qualtrics ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO). The deal is on course to complete in the first half of 2019.

‘Together, SAP and Qualtrics represent a new paradigm, similar to market-making shifts in personal operating systems, smart devices and social networks,’ SAP CEO Bill McDermott said. ‘SAP already touches 77% of the world’s transactions.’

When you combine our operational data with Qualtrics’ experience data, we will accelerate the XM category with an end-to-end solution with immediate global scale,’ he said. ‘For Qualtrics, this introduces a dynamic new partner with the belief, passion and scale to bring experience management to millions of customers around the world.’

McDermott added: ‘The combination of Qualtrics and SAP reaffirms experience management as the ground-breaking new frontier for the technology industry. SAP and Qualtrics are seizing this opportunity as like-minded innovators, united in mission, strategy and culture.’

SAP’s head in the cloud

The move by SAP to acquire Qualtrics is part of a wider strategy that sees the company migrate its enterprise software business away from on-premise services in favour of a cloud-based solution, the company said in a statement.

The acquisition will allow SAP to benefit from several operational synergies, including the ability to combine its operational data with Qualtrics customer experience information, which will allow its customers to access real-time feedback and implement it into their own strategies.

‘Our mission is to help organizations deliver the experiences that turn their customers into fanatics, employees into ambassadors, products into obsessions and brands into religions,’ Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith said.

‘Supported by a global team of over 95,000, SAP will help us scale faster and achieve our mission on a broader stage.’

‘We could not be more excited to join forces with Bill and the SAP team in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to power the experience economy,’ he added.