Silver Lake Mulls Takeover of SAP-Backed Software Firm Qualtrics

Trista (Xinyi) Luo, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Silver Lake Management said it’s considering a takeover of customer-survey software maker Qualtrics International Inc.

The tech-focused private equity firm has been exploring various alternatives for its 4.2% stake in Qualtrics, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Silver Lake currently plans to submit a proposal that could lead to buying out Qualtrics’ remaining shares and delisting the company, it said.

German software giant SAP SE announced last week it will explore a sale of its 61% stake in Qualtrics, which it spun off in an initial public offering in 2021. Shares in Provo, Utah-based Qualtrics rose as much as 7.6% on Wednesday. The stock was up 4.3% at 10:36 a.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of $9.8 billion.

Silver Lake said there’s no guarantee it will proceed with a proposal, and it could also consider other options for its stake.

SAP bought Qualtrics in 2019 for $8 billion from founder Ryan Smith, who created the business with his brother in their parents’ basement.