Submitted by GlideOutside t3_xv082j in wallstreetbets
I'll try to keep this short because I know most of you can't read.
Please note that I am making conclusions based on publicly available information from Cvent and Zoom's websites and some public social media posts.
I have no inside information and don't know if this acquisition will happen.
I'm placing a bet. Back in the pre-GME days, this is what we used to do here on Wall Street BETS.
What: Zoom $ZM to acquire Cvent $CVT
Price target: estimate deal will be priced at $8-$12/share
When: possible announcement October 11-13 or November 8-9.
Why: Zoom is dominating the virtual meeting and virtual event space. While virtual meetings continue to flourish in a post-pandemic world, virtual events have fallen off a cliff this year (see recent massive layoffs from virtual event specialists like Hopin, Bizzabo, etc).
Attendees want to go back to in-person, and Zoom does not want to miss out on the lucrative event business. So Zoom created a new division, Zoom Events: https://explore.zoom.us/en/products/event-platform/.
Zoom Events
Zoom Events feature-set completely overlaps Cvent's
The Zoom Events sales team targets meeting planners and offers a SaaS solution for their virtual and in-person events, touting hybrid is the future of events.
When I read up on their solution, it sounded an awful lot like Cvent ($CVT). Their feature set almost completely overlaps.
I thought, isn't it weird that Zoom is now competing against Cvent, considering Zoom is one of the largest investors in Cvent: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cvent-to-go-public-via-merger-with-spac-dragoneer-growth-in-53-billion-deal-2021-07-23.
If Zoom is now competing against Cvent, shouldn't they have divested from the investment (they haven't as far as I've seen in public disclosures).
So I started searching for Cvent and Zoom connections. Both companies are still promoting integrated apps in their respective app stores: https://www.cvent.com/en/event-management-software/cvent-zoom-integration and https://marketplace.zoom.us/apps/UKb_gycmQ5-iKIO8sjk8cQ.
I then searched social media and noticed several Cvent employees had posted that they were participating in Zoom's annual Zoomtopia user conference: https://zoomtopia.com/in-person/. I thought it was odd that a competitor would be allowed to exhibit at Zoom's event.
So I dug deeper on the Zoomtopia In-Person event website and clicked on register, and then it hit me. Cvent is providing the online registration for Zoomtopia:
Zoom Events website shows they offer a competing online registration product, but instead of using it for Zoomtopia, they are using Cvent's. Even if their product was sub-optimal to use for a big event like Zoomtopia, Zoom would likely still follow Silicon Valley's mantra of "eat your own dog food" and use their in-house solution.
Another major virtual meeting player, WebEx, recently made the same decision that I believe Zoom is making. WebEx acquired Cvent competitor Socio to create WebEx Events: https://www.webex.com/events.html.
So I believe these hints are enough to believe Zoom will acquire Cvent. But when would the deal be announced?
Since Cvent will be used extensively at Zoomtopia and Cvent staff will be in attendance, that would be the perfect time to announce (November 8-9). The other potential date is October 11-13 as Cvent is exhibiting at the industry's largest trade show, IMEX America, and has a huge booth very near WebEx Event's booth:
I may play with options, but for now, I'm all shares. Check my history to see my past bets. I've been making big plays here for years.
Positions 155,505 shares purchased for $997,257
