Cvent Holding Corp., a meetings, events and hospitality technology provider, entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity funds managed by Blackstone in a transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $4.6 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cvent stockholders will receive $8.50 per share in cash, representing a premium of 52% to the volume weighted average share price over the 90 days prior to Jan. 30 – the day before media 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.
Cvent’s comprehensive suite of technology solutions powers the entire event management process to maximize the impact of events. Cvent has approximately 22,000 customers globally in the corporate, non-profit, higher education and hospitality sectors as of Dec. 31, 2022. Since its founding in 1999, Cvent has helped manage more than five million events, and lists more than 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.
“We are excited to share this announcement and look forward to our next chapter alongside the Blackstone team,” Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Cvent, said. “As one of the world’s largest private equity firms, Blackstone brings deep expertise in the event and hospitality industry, and with their backing, we plan to continue to invest in our business and deliver the innovative solutions that meet our customers’ needs and power the meetings and events ecosystem.”
“The continued events and travel recovery is one of Blackstone’s highest-conviction investment themes,” David Schwartz, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said. “Given our extensive experience in the hospitality, events and real estate sectors, we believe Blackstone is well positioned as a growth partner for this exceptional business.”
“Cvent is an industry leader and we are excited to partner with their management team to continue the firm’s innovation and deliver world-class technology solutions to customers in the event and hospitality space,” Martin Brand, head of North America private equity and global co-head of technology investing at Blackstone, said.
In connection with the transaction, Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses and majority stockholder of Cvent, has agreed to invest a portion of its proceeds as non-convertible preferred stock in financing for the transaction.
“Since Vista first invested, Cvent has undertaken considerable business transformation and has been a testament to how we partner with founders like Reggie to help their businesses scale and thrive,” Monti Saroya, chairman of the Cvent board of directors, co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund and senior managing director, said. “The newly digitized events landscape, coupled with Cvent’s strong existing customer base and commitment to innovation, has provided a new growth vector in a post-COVID world. We look forward to seeing the company continue to execute on the opportunities ahead of it.”
Following the recommendation of a special committee composed entirely of independent and disinterested directors, the Cvent board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement. The transaction is expected to close mid-year 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of approval by Cvent’s stockholders and required regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Cvent’s common stock will no longer be publicly listed, and Cvent will become a privately held company.
Blackstone has received a fully committed $1 billion credit facility as part of the financing of this transaction.
Qatalyst Partners is acting as financial advisor to Cvent, and Kirkland & Ellis is acting as legal counsel to Cvent.
J.P. Morgan Securities is acting as financial advisor to the special committee, and Goodwin Procter is acting as legal counsel to the special committee.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is acting as legal counsel to Blackstone, and Evercore, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as financial advisors to Blackstone.
