What happened
Shares of Zendesk (ZEN) were soaring Friday morning after the company announced that it would be acquired by an investment group. Once the deal closes, it once again will be a privately held company.
The software-as-a-service company was up by 29% as of 9:44 a.m. ET.
So what
Zendesk said in a press release Friday morning that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be purchased by the global investment firms Permira and Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash deal valued at about $10.2 billion.
Image source: Getty Images.
Shareholders will receive $77.50 per share, which works out to be a 34% premium over Zendesk's closing stock price on Thursday.
"With Hellman & Friedman and Permira's support, we'll continue to execute on our long-term strategy with our customers as our top priority, taking full advantage of the opportunity we see to help businesses navigate the ever changing expectations and demands of their customers," Zendesk founder and CEO Mikkel Svane said in the press release.
Zendesk's board of directors has already unanimously approved the deal.
Now what
Like most tech stocks, Zendesk's share price has fallen sharply over the past year. It's still down by around 49% over the past 12 months, despite Friday's gains, which put it above $74 a share.
Investors can expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Zendesk.
