Event technology company Cvent announced that after going public for a second time in 2021 through a special acquisition at a valuation of $5.3 billion, it will be acquired by a New York-based private equity fund managed by Blackstone for $4.6 billion. The highly anticipated deal represents an $8.50 per share price for stockholders, a 52% premium over the 90-day running average prior to Jan. 30, the day before reports of a potential transaction were published.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will be a significant minority investor alongside Blackstone as part of the transaction. Vista Equity Partners, the technology investment firm that is the majority stockholder of Cvent, has agreed to invest a portion of its proceeds as non-convertible preferred stock in financing for the transaction.
“Day-to-day operations will remain business-as-usual and Cvent will continue to operate as a separate and independent public company until the transaction closes, which is expected mid-year 2023, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions,” according to a statement from Reggie Aggarwal, Cvent CEO and founder.
“Blackstone is a strong, deep-pockets investor and this is a statement of confidence in the power of events,” said event technology watcher Corbin Ball in the hours after the acquisition was announced. “I have watched Reggie grow the company from the garage phase through the dotcom collapse and the irrational exuberance of investments and subsequent mergers and acquisitions during the pandemic. I hope he will continue to reinvest in the company now that it is going private again.”
Read More: Cvent’s Event Tech Roadmap
According to filings, at the end of last year, Cvent had approximately 22,000 customers globally in the corporate, non-profit, higher education and hospitality sectors as of December 31, 2022. Since its founding in 1999, Cvent has helped manage more than 5 million events, and lists over 302,000 hotels and venues as of Dec. 31, 2022, on the Cvent Supplier Network, an online platform with tools to search, negotiate and contract with hotels and venues for event space. In 2021, the market for in-person, virtual and hybrid events was estimated at $30 billion.
