(Bloomberg) — Zendesk Inc., a software company that became a takeover target during a failed purchase of SurveyMonkey’s parent, said it has ended a strategic review of its operations and has concluded that it will remain an independent public company. The shares tumbled about 7% in early trading.
The San Francisco-based firm conducted a “thorough process,” with the help of advisers, Qatalyst Partners, and Goldman Sachs Group Co., legal advisors at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which included soliciting interest from a wide range of potential buyers and financial sponsors, according to a statement on Thursday.
Over the course of several months, Zendesk reached out to 26 potential counterparties, including 16 potential strategic partners and 10 financial sponsors. Only a handful of financial sponsors, and none of the potential strategic partners, chose to continue the process. Ultimately, “no actionable proposals were submitted,” Zendesk said, and final bidders cited “adverse market conditions and financing difficulties at the end of the process.”
Read more: Zendesk fields takeover offer from private equity group
Zendesk had put itself in play after trying to buy SurveyMonkey parent Momentive Global Inc. Zendesk nixed that takeover in February after shareholders in both software companies questioned the merits of the deal.
“In response to investor input and our own self-assessments following the termination of our proposed acquisition of Momentive, our board decided it was in the best interest of our stockholders to assess all opportunities to enhance stockholder value,” said Chief Executive Officer and founder, Mikkel Svane. “The process did not yield any actionable options for Zendesk, and our Board unanimously determined that the right path to sustainably grow stockholder value lies in advancing Zendesk as an independent business.”
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