SAP walks in acquisition of AI workflow platform WalkMe

⇨ Deal represents a 45% premium on 4 June share price and equity value of US$1.5B

⇨ WalkMe customers in Australia include Origin and Blackwoods

⇨ Complements SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX solutions to drive to transformation value

SAP today announced a definitive agreement under which SAP will acquire WalkMe, a leader in digital adoption platforms (DAPs) with revenues of US$267million.

WalkMe’s solutions provides users with advanced guidance and automation features that enable them to execute workflows seamlessly across any number of applications. The acquisition is the latest in SAP’s drive to accelerate value realisation of SAP investments by end users.

The Executive and Supervisory Boards of SAP SE and the board of directors of WalkMe have approved the transaction for US $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing an equity value of approximately US $1.5 billion. The offer price represents a 45% premium to WalkMe’s closing share price on June 4, 2024.

WalkMe has offices in Australia and Singapore and over 2000 customers worldwide. APAC customers include Origin Energy and Blackwoods.

Aided SuccessFactors and Microsoft Dynamics in Australia

Origin used WalkMe to improve employee use of its SuccessFactors solution, reducing help desk tickets by over 70% and reducing 2-day processes to 20-second self-service actions.

“Now, employees are uploading their licenses and safety certificates themselves, so we can refocus people’s efforts on higher impact tasks” said Frank Malley, Head of Process & Employee Experience for Origin. “The ActionBot jumps between softwares and walks you through the seven or eight different screens and makes it look seamless.”

Blackwoods, a subsidiary of Wesfarmers, implemented Walk Me as a part of the change management strategy for its Microsoft Dynamics company wide technology initiative. This increased time-to-proficiency for new team members by 50% and slashed quite generation process by 15%.

“With traditional job aids, you need to search for the right page. WalkMe just knows what ‘page’ you’re on,” said Darryl Crumblin, Blackwoods Sales Training and Enablement Manager. “Implementing process automation with WalkMe significantly streamlines everything from our order and sales processing to our inventory management, resulting in improved employee efficiency and a better customer experience.”

The envisioned combination complements SAP’s Business Transformation Management portfolio around SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX solutions to help customers on their transformation journeys.

“Applications, processes, data, and people are the four key elements of a successful business transformation,” said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “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.”

Boost enterprise productivity and drive value of Business Transformation

“We are thrilled to join forces with SAP. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey, providing us with the resources and customer base necessary to enhance our product offerings and expand our market reach,” said Dan Adika, CEO of WalkMe. “By leveraging SAP’s extensive ecosystem, we are poised to unlock substantial growth opportunities and deliver even greater value to our customers. Together, we look forward to a future filled with innovation and exceptional service.”

WalkMe helps organizations boost enterprise productivity and lower risk by enabling consistent, effective and efficient use of software and the workflows it enables. Its DAP works on top of an organization’s application landscape, detects where people encounter friction and provides the tailored support and automation, they need to complete the job to be done, right in the flow of work, across any application. Importantly, WalkMe will continue to fully support non-SAP applications.

Soon, WalkMe will launch the WalkMeX copilot, which will use WalkMe’s contextual awareness and AI to suggest the best next step for any workflow, anywhere. WalkMeX has the capability to always be on, serving as an overlay to any application, including copilots from different vendors that companies use in their landscapes. Integrating the strength of WalkMe’s adoption capabilities with SAP’s copilot Joule will boost AI assistant and productivity gains for all SAP customers. Additionally, integrating distinctive e-learning features in the SAP Enable Now solution with WalkMe will form the center of SAP’s people-centric transformation approach going forward.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of WalkMe shareholder approval and necessary regulatory clearances, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. The impact of the transaction on SAP’s non-IFRS earnings per share for fiscal 2024 is expected to be immaterial.