Yext, Inc., the leading digital presence platform for multi-location brands, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Hearsay Systems, a global leader in digital client engagement for financial services. The deal is valued at $125 million, with the potential for an additional $95 million contingent on performance targets.
Unifying Digital Presence Management and Client Engagement
This acquisition will merge Yext’s industry-leading digital presence management platform with Hearsay Systems’ compliant engagement solutions. Additionally, these solutions span social media, websites, text, and voice, offering a unified digital marketing platform designed to enhance the customer journey. Furthermore, it will accelerate the conversion of prospects into loyal customers.
Enhancing Compliance and Customer Engagement
The world’s leading financial firms trust Hearsay Systems for its compliance-driven platform, which enables 260,000 advisors and agents to manage customer engagement while adhering to regulatory and brand standards. By integrating Hearsay’s technology with Yext’s suite of products and AI capabilities, brands will benefit from a single platform that offers more channels and consolidated analytics, driving improved performance across all digital marketing efforts.
CEO Insights on the Acquisition
Michael Walrath, CEO and Chair of the Board at Yext, emphasized the strategic benefits of the acquisition: “Customers are increasingly looking to consolidate digital marketing channels into one platform to increase efficiency, improve performance, and reduce costs. Yext already provides access to more channels than any other provider. With Hearsay Systems, we’ll offer even more ways for brands to connect with their customers one-to-one. Therefore, our combined technology will bring instant value to our regulated customers, and furthermore, we see an opportunity to extend these solutions to other industries. Specifically, Focusing on solving customer problems, Yext can deliver the innovation they need faster, especially with Hearsay’s involvement.”
Seamless CRM Integration
Hearsay Systems’ solutions seamlessly integrate into CRM systems, with a notable partnership with Salesforce, whose venture capital arm invested in the company in 2020. This integration allows brands to synchronize contact information, track client interactions, enhance field productivity, orchestrate workflows, and uncover best practices, providing a comprehensive approach to customer relationship management.
Future Prospects and AI Integration
Michael Boese, CEO of Hearsay Systems, expressed excitement about the future: “Hearsay Systems has a long history of innovation for financial services, building transformational client engagement solutions and successfully bringing AI to a highly regulated industry. Consequently, We are thrilled to offer our customers an expanded solution set and, furthermore, to introduce Hearsay solutions to customers across additional industries. By combining our resources and technology with Yext, we’ll deliver even more value to brands as they leverage the power of AI in digital marketing.”
Transaction Details
Yext expects to close the acquisition in the second half of its fiscal year 2025, concluding on January 31, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Additionally, legal advisors for the transaction include Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. for Yext, and Latham & Watkins LLP for Hearsay Systems.