Medallia, a leading player in the customer and employee experience management sector, has been actively involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) over the past few years. This article delves into the significant M&A activities of Medallia, particularly focusing on the past three years, and explores how these strategic moves have shaped the company’s trajectory and market presence.

Medallia’s Acquisition by Thoma Bravo

One of the most pivotal moments in Medallia’s recent history was its acquisition by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Announced on July 26, 2021, and completed on October 14, 2021, this all-cash transaction valued at $6.4 billion marked a significant shift for Medallia, transitioning it from a publicly traded company to a private entity once again. Thoma Bravo, known for its extensive portfolio of technology and software firms, acquired Medallia at a premium of approximately 20% over its unaffected closing stock price on June 10, 2021.

Leslie Stretch, President and CEO of Medallia, expressed confidence that the partnership with Thoma Bravo would catalyze Medallia’s growth and innovation. This acquisition was seen as a strategic move to leverage Thoma Bravo’s operational and software expertise, aiming to expand Medallia’s customer reach and drive differentiated growth in the experience management market.

Post-Acquisition Expansion and Acquisitions

Following its acquisition by Thoma Bravo, Medallia embarked on a series of acquisitions to bolster its capabilities and expand its market presence. These acquisitions were aimed at enhancing Medallia’s product offerings and entering new markets and geographies.

Fields Healthcare Research

In 2022, Medallia acquired Fields Healthcare Research, a data collection company specializing in patient healthcare experience research. This acquisition was strategically significant as it enabled Medallia’s healthcare practitioner clients to capture real-time patient information and feedback, thereby enhancing the quality of healthcare services. This move underscored Medallia’s commitment to expanding its footprint in the healthcare sector, a market with growing demand for experience management solutions.

CXTeam

Medallia further expanded its reach into Latin America by acquiring CXTeam, a customer experience consulting firm headquartered in Mexico. This acquisition allowed Medallia to tap into the Latin American market, providing localized expertise and solutions to clients in the region. The integration of CXTeam’s consulting services with Medallia’s technology platform aimed to deliver comprehensive customer experience management solutions to a broader audience.

Mindful (Formerly VHT)

Perhaps the most notable acquisition post-Thoma Bravo was Medallia’s purchase of Mindful, a callback automation solutions provider, from Alpine Investors. Mindful’s patented technology enables customers to schedule callbacks at their convenience, transition to other channels when needed, and provide automated call initiation based on signals from various channels. This acquisition significantly enhanced Medallia’s contact center solutions, offering clients more flexibility and efficiency in managing customer interactions.

Strategic Partnerships and Product Enhancements

In addition to acquisitions, Medallia has forged several strategic partnerships to enhance its product offerings and extend its market reach. These partnerships have been instrumental in integrating Medallia’s solutions with other leading technologies and platforms.

Partnership with Rybbon

Medallia partnered with Rybbon to help companies reward customers for their participation in surveys and other voice-of-the-customer programs. This partnership aimed to increase customer engagement and feedback by providing tangible incentives for participation. Recognizing that feedback is only valuable when customers actually provide it, this collaboration was designed to enhance the effectiveness of Medallia’s feedback collection efforts.

Integration with Snappy Gifts

Through another partnership, Medallia integrated its Stella Connect engagement and performance management solution for contact center agents with Snappy Gifts, an incentive rewards platform. This integration allows companies to reward agents automatically based on positive customer feedback, thereby increasing employee motivation and engagement. Such initiatives underscore Medallia’s focus on not only improving customer experiences but also enhancing employee satisfaction and performance.

Medallia Digital Suite and Athena Studio

Medallia’s product portfolio saw significant enhancements with the launch of the Medallia Digital Suite and Athena Studio. The Medallia Digital Suite combines actionable user feedback metrics with complete behavioral data to help organizations optimize their websites and mobile apps in real time. Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities enable organizations to distill digital behaviors and tie them to critical business outcomes, such as revenue impact.

Athena Studio, on the other hand, extends Medallia’s AI and machine learning capabilities by allowing organizations to build AI models and analytics for unstructured data without coding. This tool makes data science and model customization more accessible, enabling companies to deploy text and conversation analytics quickly and efficiently.

Sector-Specific Expansions

Medallia has also made strategic moves to expand its presence in specific sectors, particularly financial services and insurance. The launch of an accelerator for Guidewire ClaimCenter allows insurers to collect data across significant moments in the claims process. This integration enables firms to send survey invitations, view feedback and sentiment data, and initiate follow-up actions within ClaimCenter. Such sector-specific expansions highlight Medallia’s strategy to tailor its solutions to meet the unique needs of different industries.

Recent Developments and Future Outlook

In 2023, Medallia continued its trajectory of growth and innovation with several key developments. The appointment of Joe Tyrrell as Chief Executive Officer marked a new leadership phase aimed at accelerating innovation and scalable growth. Medallia also announced partnerships to enhance agent assistance for customer service, reflecting its ongoing commitment to improving customer and employee experiences.

Medallia’s recent partnerships with organizations like Scientific Games, Permanent TSB, and Royal Jordanian further demonstrate its efforts to diversify its client base and expand its global footprint. These partnerships leverage Medallia’s expertise in capturing and analyzing customer and employee feedback to drive real-time improvements and strategic decision-making.

Conclusion

Medallia’s M&A activity over the past three years has been marked by strategic acquisitions, significant partnerships, and product enhancements. The acquisition by Thoma Bravo in 2021 was a transformative event that set the stage for Medallia’s subsequent growth and expansion. By acquiring companies like Fields Healthcare Research, CXTeam, and Mindful, Medallia has strengthened its capabilities and extended its reach into new markets and geographies.

Strategic partnerships and product innovations have further solidified Medallia’s position as a leader in the customer and employee experience management sector. As Medallia continues to evolve and adapt to the changing market landscape, its focus on delivering innovative solutions and expanding its global presence will likely drive its future success.

In summary, Medallia’s M&A activity in the past three years reflects a concerted effort to enhance its product offerings, enter new markets, and leverage strategic partnerships to deliver comprehensive experience management solutions. These efforts position Medallia well for continued growth and leadership in the rapidly evolving experience management market.


Also published on Medium.

By John Mecke

John is a 25 year veteran of the enterprise technology market. He has led six global product management organizations for three public companies and three private equity-backed firms. He played a key role in delivering a $115 million dividend for his private equity backers – a 2.8x return in less than three years. He has led five acquisitions for a total consideration of over $175 million. He has led eight divestitures for a total consideration of $24.5 million in cash. John regularly blogs about product management and mergers/acquisitions.