AUSTIN, Texas– Zilliant, Inc. (“Zilliant”), the industry leader in intelligent B2B price optimization, price management and sales guidance software, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (“MDP”), a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy, Zilliant’s industry-leading suite of offerings enables B2B companies to connect their commercial strategies to sales execution by transforming how data is used to price and sell. Zilliant uses a data science-driven approach to help customers address the most significant sources of margin and revenue leakage to effectively execute pricing and sales strategies that maximize their return on investment (ROI). Zilliant was recently named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide B2B Price Optimization and Management Applications 2021 Vendor Assessment (doc # US46742021, September 2021).
“The market for price optimization and management solutions has reached an inflection point, as the explosion of digital commerce and the acceleration of digital transformation are driving company leaders to seek out scalable, intelligent pricing and sales solutions,” said Greg Peters, president and CEO of Zilliant. “We are excited to partner with the MDP team who shares our commitment to further drive this next stage of innovation and growth in this increasingly important and rapidly evolving market worldwide.”
“We have followed Zilliant for years and are impressed by the company’s tremendous track record of optimizing value for its customers,” said Scott Pasquini, managing director and co-head of the MDP Telecom, Media & Technology Services team. “With its industry-leading cloud-native software and customer success, Zilliant is delivering the highest level of value to customers across the market. We look forward to working with Greg and the Zilliant team to accelerate the growth of the company and enable its continued delivery of innovative software solutions that address the full spectrum of pricing and sales challenges for customers around the world.”
Zaid Alsikafi, managing director and co-head of the MDP Telecom, Media & Technology Services team, added: “As commerce becomes increasingly digital and global markets become more integrated and complex, we believe sophisticated pricing strategies will be a competitive necessity for large- and mid-size enterprises. Zilliant is well-positioned to be a breakout leader in this space and we are excited to support the team as it executes the company’s customer-centric growth strategy.”
The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 and is subject to certain closing conditions, including the waiting period required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Upon closing, funds affiliated with MDP will own a controlling stake in Zilliant.
Union Square Advisors LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Zilliant and Vinson & Elkins LLP is serving as its legal counsel. Spurrier Capital Partners is acting as exclusive financial advisor to MDP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is providing legal counsel.
About Zilliant
Zilliant powers intelligent commerce for B2B companies by connecting their commercial strategies with effective execution. Our industry-leading price optimization and management and sales guidance software enables profitable growth by transforming the way our customers use data to price and sell in traditional and digital channels. Zilliant’s data science, cloud-native software and passion for customer success delivers the highest ROI, fastest time to value and highest customer satisfaction. Learn more about how Zilliant helps power intelligence commerce at www.zilliant.com.
About Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (“MDP”) is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP’s formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $28 billion and has completed over 150 investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.