Following persistent pressure from activist investor Jana Partners, software provider Zendesk Inc. concluded its sale to a group of private equity firms led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira on Tuesday in a deal valued at $10.2 billion.
Shareholders of Zendesk received $77.50 in cash as part of the agreement.
The transaction, which Zendesk shareholders approved in September, was supported by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
After San Francisco-based Zendesk’s attempt to acquire SurveyMonkey parent company Momentive Global Inc in a $3.9 billion transaction fell through, Jana pushed for the sale. Momentive’s acquisition of Zendesk was unsuccessful because shareholders opposed it.
Light Street Capital Management, which oversees funds that control more than 2% of Zendesk, announced in August that it will vote against the private equity transaction and suggested that Zendesk continue to be a separate public business and appoint a new CEO.
