CEO buddies under scrutiny in $4B Zendesk and Momentive merger
Summary
Angry shareholders are questioning whether an unpopular software merger amounts to a sweetheart deal between two CEO buddies — and they’re pointing to a smiling selfie that the pair posted together on Twitter, On The Money has learned. The move baffled some analysts, who argued that it doesn’t make sense for Zendesk — which is bigger than Momentive and growing at a faster rate — to absorb a smaller, slower firm. Investment manager Jana Partners, a big Zendesk investor led by hard-charging shareholder activist Barry Rosenstein, is also raising hackles over the executives’ friendship and calling for the deal to be scrapped. “Or is the board simply not sufficiently engaged to appropriately safeguard shareholder interests?” Zendesk and Momentive did not respond to requests for comment but have insisted publicly that they’re going forward with the merger. At the same time, shares of Momentive — which counts Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and tennis superstar Serena Williams among its board members — also plummeted 9 percent.
Classifications
AskAI Classifications
LabelsLinked Companies
