Meetings technology specialist Cvent is to be purchased by private equity giant Blackstone in a deal worth $4.6 billion.
Cvent, which listed on the Nasdaq exchange in the US in 2021, said that its shareholders would receive $8.50 per share in the deal, which was a 52 per cent premium of Cvent’s average share price over the past 90 days.
A subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will also be a “significant minority investor” in Cvent alongside Blackstone.
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.”
Cvent, which was founded in 1999, has around 22,000 customers globally in the corporate, non-profit, higher education and hospitality sectors. The company has helped manage more than five million events since its creation and lists over 302,000 hotels and venues on its online supplier network platform.
David Schwartz, senior managing director at Blackstone, said: “The continued events and travel recovery is one of Blackstone’s highest-conviction investment themes.
“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.”
Blackstone has invested in a host of travel firms in the past few decades and has previously owned tech specialist Travelport and hotel giant Hilton.
Investment firm Vista Equity Partners, which is currently Cvent’s majority shareholder, will use a “portion” of its proceeds from the sale to Blackstone to finance the transaction.
Monti Saroya, chairman of Cvent’s board of directors and co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund, added: “The newly digitised 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.”