Cvent cofounder and CEO Reggie Aggarwal. Photo Credit: Cvent
The $4.6 billion Cvent acquisition has been completed, with the company now part of an affiliate of private equity funds managed by Blackstone. Cvent's common stock has ceased trading and has been delisted from the Nasdaq. The deal was first announced on March 14.
The $8.50 per share that stockholders received represents a gain of 52 percent over the average share price for the 90 days preceding the January report that first leaked acquisition news. Prior to that, Cvent's shares had fallen about 34 percent last year, according to Reuters.
A subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is now a significant minority investor in the Cvent deal. Vista Equity Partners, which had been the company's majority investor, remains a stakeholder. Vista first took Cvent private in 2016 when it acquired the company for $1.65 billion, and then returned Cvent to public trading in late 2021 through a special acquisition deal with Dragoneer Growth Opportunities.
"Vista is proud of the partnership we’ve built with Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal; the transformative change that Cvent has driven in the meetings and events ecosystem is a testament to how we help founders realize their company vision," said Monti Saroya, co-head of Vista’s Flagship Fund and senior managing director, in a statement about today's closing. "Both he and his leadership team are torchbearers of innovation, ingenuity and culture, and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish next."
Cvent can now benefit from Blackstone's backing. "We’re thrilled to support Cvent's continued growth and product advancements, bringing Blackstone’s global resources to bear and leveraging the firm’s deep expertise and thematic focus on hospitality, events and real estate," said David Schwartz, a senior managing director in Blackstone's Private Equity Group.
Blackstone has deep ties in the hospitality industry, with a major portfolio of hotel real estate assets that formerly included Hilton Worldwide. The financial asset manager is also an investor in Groups360, which offers meetings-venue sourcing solutions that compete with Cvent's.
"We believe this partnership with Blackstone positions Cvent to continue leading the market for best-in-class technology to maximize event ROI and impact," noted Cvent founder and CEO Reggie Aggarwal. "We will continue to aggressively invest in the innovative solutions organizations need to more deeply engage with their customers, prospects and employees that are so critical to their success."