Challenger - M&A Summary, Ownership, and Business Overview

Internet Software And ServicesCompany

Challenger M&A Summary

Challenger has acquired 14 companies of its own. A total of 5 acquisitions came from private equity firms.

Challenger’s largest acquisition to date was in 2012, when it acquired SHL Group for $660M. Challenger has acquired in 6 different US states, and 5 countries. The Company’s most targeted sectors include business services (75%) and information technology (17%).

Challenger Ownership

Who owns Challenger?

Challenger is owned by Richardson Sales Performance. It was acquired on September 16, 2024.

Was Challenger formerly PE-backed?

Yes. Challenger was formerly owned by 1 private investor.

Challenger Business Overview

Where is Challenger headquartered?

Challenger is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

What is Challenger’s revenue?

Challenger disclosed revenue of 950M USD for 2016 and 928M USD for 2015.

How many employees does Challenger have?

Challenger has 4,600 employees.

What sector is Challenger in?

Challenger is an internet software and services company.

When was Challenger founded?

Challenger was founded in 1979.

M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity12
    • M&A Buy Activity12
  • Total Sectors Invested 3
  • Total Countries Invested 5
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 5
  • M&A Advisors 4

Challenger

Challenger Performance Optimization, Inc.

1777 N Kent St.,
Arlington, Virginia 22209
United States,
(571) 303-3000
www.challengerinc.com

Challenger is a global performance improvement platform that delivers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions focused on sales marketing and customer service training through in-person workshops, eLearning and workflow tools, diagnostic and assessment offerings, and other sales acceleration modules. Underpinned by the world-renowned, research-based Challenger and Effortless Experience methodologies, its solutions help enterprises adopt, develop, communicate, and implement more effective commercial strategies on a global scale. Challenger was founded in 1979 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.


M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 T
Buy (0.0/yr) # 12 - - - - - 12
vol $1.1B $1.1B
Sell (0.0/yr) # - - - - - - 0
  12

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
Evanta Inc. 2016-04-04 275M USD Add-on Acquisition
Portland, Oregon · www.evanta.com
Wanted Technologies Corp. 2015-09-11 - Add-on Acquisition
Quebec City, Quebec · www.wantedanalytics.com
CEO Forum Group 2015-07-28 9M AUD Add-on Acquisition
Melbourne, Australia · www.ceoforum.com.au
Sunstone Analytics 2015-06-17 - Add-on Acquisition
San Francisco, California
KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. 2014-03-03 52M USD Add-on Acquisition
Chicago, Illinois · www.knowledgeadvisors.com
Talent Neuron 2014-02-11 - Add-on Acquisition
Santa Clara, California · www.talentneuron.com
SHL Group PLC 2012-07-02 660M USD Add-on Acquisition
Thames Ditton, United Kingdom · www.shl.com
Valtera Corp. 2012-02-07 - Add-on Acquisition
Rolling Meadows, Illinois · www.valtera.com
Baumgartner & Partner Unternehmensberatung GmbH 2011-10-03 - Add-on Acquisition
Hamburg, Germany · www.baumgartner.de
Iconoculture, Inc. 2010-05-06 - Add-on Acquisition
Minneapolis, Minnesota · www.iconoculture.com
View All >>

M&A by Sector

Sector Buy # Value Sell # Value
Business Services 9 (75%) 1.0B (95%) - -
Information Technology 2 (17%) 52M (5%) - -
Software 1 (8%) - - -
Total 12 $1.1B - -

By Geo

State/Country Buy Value Sell Value
United States 8 386M - -
  Illinois 2 52M - -
  California 2 - - -
  Oregon 1 275M - -
  Minnesota 1 - - -
  Massachusetts 1 - - -
  Arizona 1 59M - -
Australia 1 9M - -
Canada 1 - - -
  Quebec 1 - - -
Germany 1 - - -
United Kingdom 1 660M - -
Domestic 8 (67%) 386M (37%) - -
Cross-border 4 (33%) 669M (63%) - -
Total 12 $1.1B - -

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
BofA Securities
1
Allen & Company
1
Centerview Partners
1
Legal Deals
Kirkland & Ellis
2

Deal Values

buy # Total
$100M to $1B 2 $935M
< $100M 3 $120M
TOTAL $1.1B
Largest SHL Group PLC
$660M (2012-07-02)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
25%
3 (25%)

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