SAP to Acquire WalkMe in $1.5 Billion Deal — Update

By Nina Kienle

SAP agreed to buy Nasdaq-listed WalkMe for about $1.5 billion, in a deal that seeks to bolster the German software group's business artificial-intelligence offerings.

The group behind the travel and expense management platform Concur is stepping up its efforts to cash in on AI, but has mostly sought to boost its exposure to the technology through partnerships and minority investments.

The acquisition of WalkMe complements SAP's business transformation-management portfolio, the companies said Wednesday. Israel-based WalkMe is a software-as-a-service company that specializes in digital-adoption platforms for business customers.

"By acquiring WalkMe, we are doubling down on the support we provide our end users, helping them to quickly adopt new solutions and features to get the maximum value out of their IT investments," SAP Chief Executive Christian Klein said.

Klein told The Wall Street Journal in October that SAP was open to more investments in AI and acquisitions

Shares in WalkMe jumped more than 40% in premarket trading in the U.S., while SAP shares traded 0.9% higher at EUR170.10.

The boards of both SAP and WalkMe approved the all-cash transaction for $14.00 a share. The offer price represents a 45% premium to WalkMe's closing share price on Tuesday.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, the companies said.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2024 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)

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