Medallia is changing hands in a deal that cements its status as the second-largest private equity failure in history.
A consortium led by Blackstone has agreed to acquire the customer-experience software company, marking a dramatic exit for previous owners Thoma Bravo, KKR, and Blackstone itself, who had previously consolidated their stakes in the firm.
The deal arrives as the broader private equity industry faces a massive $4 trillion backlog of unsold assets.
The transaction highlights the severe valuation compression plaguing the software-as-a-service sector.
While Thoma Bravo founder Orlando Bravo recently declared that the era of deep valuation cuts for software firms is over, citing artificial intelligence as a growth catalyst, Medallia’s trajectory suggests a more stubborn reality for legacy platforms struggling to justify premium multiples.
The deal arrives as the broader private equity industry faces a massive $4 trillion backlog of unsold assets.
Apollo Global Management has warned that fund performance is likely to diverge sharply as firms struggle to find buyers for their holdings in a high-interest-rate environment.