SAP, which owns a majority stake in the customer experience management company, has agreed to sell its stake for $7.7 billion, but will continue to operate as a Qualtrics' technology and go-to-market strategic partner, servicing joint customers. Credit: ipopba / Getty Images Customer experience management company Qualtrics on Monday said private equity firm Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) have agreed to buy the entire company for $12.5 billion in an all-cash transaction. CPP Investments, according to a joint statement, will pay $1.75 billion in equity and another $1 billion in debt for the deal. US-based Silver Lake, which already owns a 4% stake in the company, along with CPP Investments will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares in Qualtrics, including the entirety of ERP software provider SAP’s majority stake, the companies said. “Qualtrics will become an independent, privately held company,” Qualtrics said, adding that it will continue to remain headquartered in Provo, Utah, and Seattle, Washington, with CEO Zig Serafin at the helm. SAP acquired a majority stake in Qualtrics in 2018 for $8 billion with the idea of marrying customer experience management with ERP software systems. By doing this amalgamation of real-time customer experience data with operational data, enterprises would be able to make adjustments to business strategies to perform better against their competition in their respective segments and domain. In January, SAP said it is also exploring selling its majority stake in Qualtrics to refocus on its core business. However, despite selling off its entire stake, SAP said it will continue to remain a technology and strategic partner, with the company servicing joint customers. The acquisition of Qualtrics by the investment firms, which is expected to close in the second half of 2023, will see SAP garner approximately $7.7 billion for its stake in Qualtrics, the ERP software provider said in a statement. “Since we acquired Qualtrics in 2019 the company has more than tripled its revenue while delivering profitability,” said SAP CEO Christian Klein. “SAP intends to remain a close go-to-market and technology partner, servicing joint customers and continuing to contribute to Qualtrics’s success. The number of companies and brands using Qualtrics software has risen from 10,000 at the time of SAP’s purchase to over 18,000 today.” Related content opinion AI, cybersecurity investments and identity take center stage at RSA 2024 The industry has renewed confidence, and many innovative AI cybersecurity solutions are ready to battle today’s increased security challenges. By Rick Grinnell May 29, 2024 6 mins Security how-to Download our data management platform (DMP) enterprise buyer’s guide From the editors of CIO, this enterprise buyer’s guide helps CIOs and other IT leaders understand the benefits of a data management platform (DMP) — which are increasingly important for customer-centric sales and marketing campaigns &mdas By Peter Wayner May 29, 2024 1 min Data Management Enterprise Buyer’s Guides news NIST launches ambitious effort to assess LLM risks The standards entity’s ARIA program attempts to establish guidelines on large language model (LLM) risks — a ‘delicate and challenging concept,’ according to industry experts. By Evan Schuman May 29, 2024 6 mins Generative AI Data Governance IT Governance news Former OpenAI board member tells all about Altman’s ousting Helen Toner speaks about why she voted Altman out, and why AI governance is so important. By Paul Barker May 29, 2024 6 mins Regulation Generative AI PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe