Momentive to be sold to private equity business

The agreement will see Momentive shareholders receive $9.46 per share, a 46% premium on the company’s closing stock on the day before media rumours emerged of a potential sale on 19th October 2022.

The transaction, which was approved unanimously by the Momentive board of directors, is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Momentive shareholders.

Upon completion of the deal, Momentive will no longer be publicly listed, and the company will continue to operate under the Momentive name and Momentive and SurveyMonkey brands.

Momentive had previously been the subject of a proposed $4.1bn acquisition by Zendesk, which ended in 2022 after the deal failed to receive shareholder approval.

Zander Lurie, chief executive at Momentive, said: “This new chapter will enable Momentive to advance our long-term strategy and mission.

“STG’s 20 years of investment experience in software, analytics, and data companies will provide us with invaluable expertise as we scale our customer base and product suite.”

David Ebersman, chair of the Momentive board of directors, said: “The transaction is the result of an extensive and careful process to review strategic alternatives by the Momentive board.

“The board believes this is the right path for delivering certain and attractive value for shareholders.”

J.T. Treadwell, managing director at STG, said: “SurveyMonkey is the most iconic brand in survey technology and has a terrific reputation among individuals, teams, and enterprises for innovation and leadership, with an impressive combination of incredible ease of use and advanced enterprise capabilities and analytics.

“We have long admired the company during our 20-year history of active investment in the insights and analytics sector, and are very excited to partner with the team at Momentive to build upon their excellent foundation.”