Qualtrics is bought for $8 billion before going public

Zander Lurie, SurveyMonkey CEO

SurveyMonkey has a rocky open after rival Qualtrics is bought for $8 billion before going public

SurveyMonkey shares jumped around in early trading Monday following news that its chief rival, Qualtrics, was acquired prior to a planned IPO.

The stock opened up 2 percent before paring gains, even going negative a few times before rising back close to 1 percent.

The stock was up about 6 percent before markets opened Monday.

SAP announced Sunday that it will acquire the survey software company for $8 billion in cash. It said the deal has been approved by both boards and Qualtrics shareholders.

Qualtrics had filed its IPO prospectus in October, less than a month after SurveyMonkey hit the Nasdaq. SurveyMonkey shares fell 11 percent the first trading day after its larger and faster-growing competitor announced plans to join it on the public market.

Qualtrics has managed to turn a profit and operate with narrower losses than SurveyMonkey, according to its IPO filing. Qualtrics' recorded revenue for the first half of 2018 grew 41.7 percent to $184.2 million, according to the filing. Comparatively, SurveyMonkey reported 14 percent growth to $121.2 million in sales over the same period.

Credits:https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/12/surveymonkey-stock-rises-after-rival-qualtrics-acquired-by-sap.html