Cvent Holding Corp., a meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, announced in mid-March that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity funds managed by Blackstone in a transaction valued at $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, 2023—the day before media reports of a potential transaction were published. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will be a significant minority investor alongside Blackstone as part of the transaction.
“We are excited to share this announcement and look forward to our next chapter alongside the Blackstone team,” says Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Cvent. “As one of the world’s largest private equity firms, Blackstone brings deep expertise in the event and hospitality industry, and with its 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.”
David Schwartz, senior managing director at Blackstone, says, “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.”
Martin Brand, head of North America Private Equity and global co-head of technology investing at Blackstone, adds, “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.”
In connection with the transaction, Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses, and a majority stockholder of Cvent, has agreed to invest a portion of its proceeds as nonconvertible 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,” says Monti Saroya, chair of the Cvent board of directors, co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund, and senior managing director. “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-19 world.’ We look forward to seeing the company continue to execute on the opportunities ahead of it.”
