A significant Zendesk stakeholder intends to fight a prospective acquisition and proposed a billion-dollar alternative to keep the business apart.
Zendesk recently announced it would be acquired by a consortium of investors. Light Street, one of its major stakeholders, has announced it will vote against the deal. The stakeholder proposed an alternative plan instead.
Light Street intends to obtain funds for the firm by issuing $1 billion in company stock and $2 billion in new debt. According to the company, Zendesk may then attempt to acquire SurveyMonkey for $5 billion and remain independent. Zendesk unsuccessfully tried to acquire SurveyMonkey in the past. According to Light Street, expanding the company is preferable to selling out.
Light Street also wants the organization to strengthen its management and remove the CEO, who may remain as a chairperson.
Zendesk
Zendesk was founded in 2007 in San Francisco and serves over 1 million customers in over 100 languages across a wide range of industries. It’s essentially a client service network that develops tools to help businesses and their customers.
Zendesk allows businesses to improve customer relations and acquire a better understanding of customers. Zendesk services are simple to set up and use. Moreover, it enables organizations to move rapidly drive innovation and develop at pace with their growth.
Light Street’s future goals
Light Street is urging Zendesk to increase the number of board members to 10, including five independent members.
Additionally, the investor wants a new CEO with experience in the software sector. Three of the board nominees proposed by Light Street are expected to help recruit the new CEO.
According to Glen Kacher, founder of Light Street, investors could see private equity-style returns in the public markets with a stronger emphasis on encouraging operating profit growth and fresh leadership.
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