Cvent To Go Public, Expects to Raise $801 Million
Cvent, the leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, and Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. II --a special purpose acquisition company, has announced their entry into a definitive business combination agreement (the “Merger Agreement”). Upon closing, the combined company will operate as Cvent Holding Corp., and is expected to trade under the ticker symbol “CVT.”
The transaction values Cvent at an initial enterprise value of $5.3 billion. The transaction will provide Cvent with $801 million in cash which will enable the company to accelerate product innovation, increase research and development, reduce debt, and expand go-to market activities to capitalize on its leading position in the $30 billion market for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Cvent’s growing global customer base, proven track record of success over more than two decades, and established platform position the company for substantial expansion.
Cvent CEO & Founder Reggie Aggarwal said, “The meetings and events industry has experienced rapid digital transformation over the last 18 months, with the pandemic creating a new paradigm for the events industry. Events became digitized through virtual and online experiences, and we invested heavily in expanding our virtual event capabilities. Now, we are engaging in a hybrid world, as in-person events resume, and virtual events remain prominent. With the increased digitization of our industry, events are ’always on’ and have fewer boundaries. My management team and our nearly 4,000 employees around the world are excited for the opportunity to continue to innovate and enable our customers to leverage Cvent across their Total Event Program.”
Dragoneer Founder and Managing Partner Marc Stad said, “We are excited to lock arms with Cvent and help position the business for its next phase of growth as a publicly listed company. In H2’20, Cvent launched its virtual events solution, and ever since, this virtual product line has been growing rapidly and has been well-received by customers. As the world reopens, we expect to move into a hybrid world that combines elements of in-person and virtual events. With the optionality, flexibility and reach that Cvent can provide, we expect organizations to increasingly turn to Cvent to expand their audiences and create new, user-friendly ways for both virtual and in-person participants to interact with their events. Moreover, Cvent’s hospitality cloud business is a differentiator that benefits from powerful network effects – a key tenet that we look for in many of our investments at Dragoneer. Cvent is led by an exceptional management team with years of industry experience and a strong track record of profitable growth. We believe the $801M of capital expected to be raised from this transaction will enable management to double down on product development and further cement Cvent’s position as a leader in this software category.”
Co-Head of Vista’s Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director Monti Saroya said, “With Cvent’s robust platform and experienced workforce, the organization is well-positioned to support the expanded meetings and event ecosystem and deliver everything organizations need to drive engagement across all event types – in-person, virtual, and hybrid. We’re pleased that this combination with Dragoneer will allow Cvent to further accelerate innovation and growth as demand for engaging experiences across all event types increases following a transformational year.”
