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☆ SAP slightly lowers outlook after Qualtrics divestment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Business software maker SAP (SAPG.DE) on Friday slightly lowered its outlook due to the divestment of its Qualtrics unit while reporting first-quarter revenue growth that beat expectations. SAP reported revenue growth of 10% in the first three months of 2023, to 7.44 billion euros ($8.15 billion), beating expectations of 7% in company-provided consensus. The tech giant now expects non-IFRS operating profit in the range of 8.6-8.9 billion euros, 200 million euros less than before. For cloud revenue, it now targets between 14 and 14.4 billion euros, down 1.3 billion euros from previous guidance. Additionally, the IFRS operating result was affected by restructuring costs associated with SAP's recent cost-cutting program.

The logo of German software group SAP is pictured at the headquarters of SAP (Schweiz) AG in Regensdorf, Switzerland January 22, 2021. Revenue from SAP's lucrative cloud business grew 24% year-on-year, broadly in line with consensus. For the year, SAP expects non-IFRS operating profit in the range of 8.6-8.9 billion euros, 200 million euros less than before. Cloud revenue forecast is seen down by 1.3 billion euros to between 14 and 14.4 billion euros. "Underlying guidance is essentially unchanged, although updated to reflect the disposal of Qualtrics," Jefferies analysts wrote in a client note.

☆ Buyouts are getting complicated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The terms say that the buyer cannot be forced to close before Oct. 15 – seven months after the deal’s announcement. A Tuesday proxy filing shows that’s to give Platinum enough time to sort out its debt financing. Qualtrics, meanwhile, sold in March for $12.5 billion – but it turns out it almost got more. An unnamed bidder offered $21 per share, more than the $18.15 that Qualtrics accepted from Silver Lake and CPP Investments. Buyouts are getting done, but they’re also getting complicated.

And that has the impact of postponing some announcements," said Anu Aiyengar, global head of M&A at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). M&A volumes dropped 44% to $282.7 billion in the U.S. and 70% to $81.87 billion in Europe. Reuters Graphics"Having a well-functioning financing market is a critical ingredient for M&A. Global M&A volumes in Q1 2023LACK OF CONFIDENCEThe depressed market valuations also presented an opportunity for prominent activist investors to launch new proxy fights, with dealmakers anticipating a boost to M&A volumes from activist campaigns in the coming quarters. "Inflationary pressures aren't subsiding as fast as people expected; there's still a lot of geopolitical tensions, and in a lot of ways, the disruption in the financing market is intensifying," Langston said.

The remainder was equity checks by the private equity firms. Typically, debt accounts for between 60% and 80% of the deal consideration, allowing the buyout firms to juice returns. REFINANCING RISKTo be sure, a handful of private equity firms have already been accustomed to this kind of refinancing risk. An upside to the shift toward equity financing, dealmakers say, is that the companies owned by the private equity firms have more cushion to absorb losses if their business deteriorates. Many of the leveraged buyouts that became bankruptcies in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis were the result of private equity firms saddling companies with debt to the hilt.

☆ A longtime bear is ‘creeping back’ into tech — and has some picks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tech investor Paul Meeks — an unabashed longtime tech bear — is also beginning to warm to the sector. "I'm creeping back into the sector after long advocating an underweight position in it," he said in notes to CNBC on Friday. Chip makers NXP Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics also made Meeks' list, with the tech investor saying they are two stocks that he "likes very much." Outside of semiconductors, Meeks is also looking at German software firm SAP . "Keep an eye on SAP because this windfall for them could be a really nice blessing, a game-changer," he added.

☆ SAP agrees to sell Qualtrics stake for $7.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, March 13 (Reuters) - Software group SAP (SAPG.DE) said on Monday it had agreed to sell its stake in data analytics firm Qualtrics (XM.O) for $7.7 billion as part of the acquisition of Qualtrics by funds affiliated with financial investor Silver Lake. "At a purchase price of US$18.15 in cash per share, the transaction corresponds to a Qualtrics equity value of approximately US$12.5 billion on a fully diluted basis," SAP said in a statement. "SAP's stake will be acquired for approximately US$7.7 billion," it added. Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SAP-controlled Qualtrics accepts $12.5 bln offer from Silver Lake, CPPIB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Qualtrics International Inc (XM.O) said on Monday it will go private after the customer survey software maker's controlling shareholder, SAP SE (SAPG.DE), accepted a $12.5 billion bid from an investor consortium led by Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). SAP agreed to the consortium's $18.15-per-share offer for Qualtrics, saying it would get about $7.7 billion for its stake. Qualtrics said earlier this month it would negotiate on an exclusive basis with Silver Lake and CPPIB until March 15 to see whether a deal could be finalized. Silver Lake Partners currently holds a 13.94% stake in Qualtrics. In 2018, SAP bought Qualtrics for $8 billion and three years later listed it in New York.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: First Republic Bank, Moderna, Newmont, Illumina and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mike SegarCheck out the companies making the biggest moves midday:Regional banks —Shares of regional banks plummeted following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Citi , Bank of America , Goldman Sachs — Shares of major banks also saw losses after the closure of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Moderna — The biotechnology company's shares gained nearly 6% after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. Spot gold passed the key level of $1,900 as investors bet the Federal Reserve may tone down rate hikes on the heels of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Over the weekend, NBC News reported that the e-commerce company warned sellers that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is causing delays in processing payments.

☆ Silver Lake and CPP Investments to acquire Qualtrics for $12.5 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Silver Lake and CPP Investments on Monday announced plans to acquire Qualtrics for $12.5 billion, marking the second time the survey software company has been bought in less than 5 years. The companies will acquire 100% of Qualtrics' outstanding shares, according to a statement released Monday. This includes the majority ownership interest of SAP, which acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion in 2018. The all-cash deal has been approved by Qualtrics' board of directors and a Qualtrics committee of independent directors, according to the statement. "I couldn't be more excited for this step in our journey," Ryan Smith, who serves as the company's Executive Chairman, said in the statement.

☆ Qualtrics' $12.4 billion buyout deal could set a 2023 record
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailQualtrics' $12.4 billion buyout deal could set a 2023 recordCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss the Qualtrics buyout proposal, software stocks looking to go private and macro economic concerns creating a difficult buyout and financing environment.

☆ SAP ends pointless M&A roundtrip with Qualtrics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For SAP Chief Executive Christian Klein, an exit would cap a relatively pointless M&A roundtrip. In theory, SAP could have supercharged the groups’ combined revenue by offering its software to Qualtrics’ customers and vice versa. Silver Lake, a specialist in tech buyouts, is well-placed to keep that growing. One potential hiccup is that Qualtrics’ fairly paltry EBITDA limits how much debt Silver Lake can use. SAP paid $8 billion in cash for Qualtrics in 2018, and subsequently offloaded a minority stake through an initial public offering in 2021.

☆ Qualtrics gets $12.4 bln buyout offer from Silver Lake, Canada's CPPIB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 6 (Reuters) - Software maker Qualtrics International Inc (XM.O) said on Monday it has received a $12.4 billion go-private offer from private equity firm Silver Lake Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The offer values Qualtrics at $18.15 per share, a premium of nearly 6% to the stock's last closing price. They have gained 8.8% since the start of February when Silver Lake first expressed its interest in Qualtrics. Qualtrics and Silver Lake have entered into an exclusivity agreement for the deal talks, which ends on March 15. Silver Lake already holds a near 4.2% stake in Qualtrics.

☆ Buyout barons reach deep into their bags of tricks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Debt necessity is proving to be the mother of private equity invention. With the cheap borrowing that fueled record-breaking years of leveraged buyouts gone, firms are digging deeper into their bags of tricks. Private equity firm Silver Lake, which bought a stake alongside the IPO, said it might take control. Besides putting private equity firms into weaker negotiating positions, the competing incentives also threaten conflicts of interest with limited partners. ...THERE’S A WAYIf the U.S. Federal Reserve avoids engineering a recession, private equity should be able to revert to its tried-and-true formula soon enough.

☆ Want a 4-day work week? Move to Maryland, where the government is pushing for it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill that would incentivize employers to adopt a four-day work week. Employers and employees are beginning to see the benefits of a shorter work weekAmerican workers are expressing interest in a shorter work week. Companies outside of the UK that have experimented with a shorter work week also said that they have seen their profits and productivity jump as a result. California and national law makers have introduced similar bills to shorten the work week, though they have stalled and failed, respectively. "I think the question is not if, but when America is going to move to a shorter work week."

☆ Cramer's lightning round: CRISPR Therapeutics will work perfectly in this market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Loading chart...Qualtrics International Inc : "I really like XM as a long-term growth play. ... Let these guys do their work and then it's a buy." Loading chart...Clearfield Inc : "There's an analyst that cut numbers and the stock fell apart. That was ridiculous." Loading chart...CRISPR Therapeutics AG : "That's one of those crazy science stocks that in this market will work perfectly."

☆ I made more than $877,000 in revenue last year selling emotional-intelligence card games online. Here's how I built my business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Vartika Puranik | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jenny Woo is the founder of Mind Brain Emotion, which sells emotional-intelligence card games. But in 2018, I quit my job at the Montessori school and founded my company, Mind Brain Emotion, where I sell practical card games on emotional intelligence. I used Amazon Ads to bid on keywords that consumers used to search for similar productsA bid is the amount of money you're willing to spend toward a keyword or advertisement. I did more market research between fall 2018 and February 2019, and another card deck was born, 52 Essential Relationships, in March 2019. I went backward to move forward in my business because I recognized that in order to have genuine conversations, trust and understanding are prerequisites.

In Germany, where SAP is headquartered, the company will cut slightly more than 200 jobs. SAP has also started the process to sell its stake in Qualtrics (XM.O). REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 1 2Currently, survey-software seller Qualtrics has a market value of $7 billion and SAP has a 71% stake. SAP forecast core operating profit of 8.8-8.9 billion euros at constant currencies for this year. It also expects cloud revenue at constant currencies for 2023 to rise to 15.3-15.7 billion euros, from 12.56 billion euros last year.

☆ SAP to cut 3,000 jobs in efficiency move, explores Qualtrics stake sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - SAP (SAPG.DE) on Thursday said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs, or 2.5% of its global staff, and to explore a sale of its remaining stake in Qualtrics to focus on strategic growth areas and operate more efficiently. With the planned job cuts, SAP joins other big tech companies including Microsoft and Amazon in turning to layoffs to cut costs. SAP reported a 30% revenue increase in its cloud business in the fourth quarter, helped by strong demand for its HANA software. Analysts are worried that the lucrative cloud segment for big tech companies could be hit hard as customers look to cut spending. SAP's operating profit grew 17% in the three months through December to 1.71 billion euros ($1.87 billion) on group revenue of 8.44 billion euros, it said.

☆ SAP to cut 3,000 roles, explore sale of Qualtrics stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

German enterprise software firm SAP said Thursday that it will be cutting up to 3,000 jobs, or about 2.5% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech giant to announce significant layoffs. "We are further focusing our portfolio in areas where we are strongest to continue our accelerated growth," said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, during the company's fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call. SAP shares were trading over 2% lower at 8:05 a.m. London time following the announcement. It comes after the company reported positive fourth-quarter results during the call. "We in the tech sector, we at SAP, we are very confident about the year ahead," Klein said at the time.

☆ Here are the 34 tech companies most likely to be snapped up by private equity firms like Vista and Thoma Bravo in 2023, according to bankers and market data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Ben Bergman | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

With a stock price down 45% in the last year, though, it may soon find itself on the other side of the table. But it has $732 million in cash on hand, with zero debt, and analysts are projecting 16% revenue growth. This year, though, Varonis has come back to earth — its stock price has sunk over 57% in the last 12 months. However, with strong projected 2023 revenue growth of 18.6%, Zuora remains a strong target for PE firms. Its stock price has been hammered, going down about 40% this year and making it the subject of mergers-and-acquisitions chatter.

☆ Here are the 34 tech companies most likely to be on the holiday shopping lists of private-equity firms after valuations plunged this year, according to bankers and private data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ben Bergman | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

☆ Chattermill helps Amazon and Uber understand customer feedback across social media and review sites. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise a $26 million Series B.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

London-based Chattermill has raised $26 million to analyze customer feedback for big firms. Isupov had been working at a market research company, manually looking at customer feedback and brand perception. That essentially is a huge waste of opportunity because there is a lot of amazing insight in that data," Dubov added. As well as scraping internet data, Chattermill plugs into SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Qualtrics. It is honoring some signed contracts with Russian customers, of which none are Kremlin-affiliated or on a sanctions list, Dubov said.

☆ Cloud stocks creamed as Fed indicates more rate hikes are coming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors pounded cloud software stocks on Wednesday on concern that interest rates will rise for longer than previously expected. Cloud stocks have been particularly sensitive to rising rates as investors prefer to own stocks with stronger current earnings that are less reliant on future growth. But for money-losing companies — and many cloud stocks are not profitable — the calculus is completely different. One gauge of cloud stocks, the WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund, is now down 51% for 2022, compared with a 110% rise in 2020. CrowdStrike , Qualtrics and other cloud software stocks have reported more scrutiny of deals in recent months.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Coca-Cola, General Motors, JetBlue and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

General Motors (GM) – GM shares rallied 4.4% in premarket trading after the automaker reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, helped by rebounding sales. JetBlue (JBLU) – JetBlue reported a quarterly profit as elevated travel demand helped to make up for rising costs. UBS (UBS) – UBS jumped 5.1% in the premarket after the Swiss bank posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by a jump in customer cash inflows to its wealth management business. SAP (SAP) – SAP rose 3% in premarket action after the German business software company reported upbeat quarterly results, helped by strong growth in its cloud business. Qualtrics (XM) – Qualtrics surged 9.6% in the premarket after the maker of customer feedback software reported better-than-expected quarterly results and lifted its full-year forecast.

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