Kana Software, one of the original CRM pure-plays from the days before the advent of SaaS, who has changed form several times over the past decade or so (see here), is changing once again. Where Kana has been an acquirer in the past (following its move into private ownership in 2009 under Accel-KKR), this time it is being acquired. Data analytics software vendor Verint Systems is offering $514m for the company. Accel-KKR bought Kana for $41m but has funded several acquisitions since.
For Verint, the acquisition will expand the scope of its business and bring cross sell opportunities - although Verint has c10,000 customers to Kana’s c900, some of whom are already shared. The Kana acquisition will take it into the customer service market which is a good move and Kana could add around $150m revenue and $45m in earnings, taking Verint close to $1bn in revenue.
Kana has not had much of a profile over the past few years, despite having some neat technology on its books. Hopefully fast growing Verint will be able to do something with it.