Qualtrics pays $6.75 billion for Press Ganey Forsta, creating customer experience giant

Provo-based customer experience platform Qualtrics has acquired Press Ganey Forsta, a global patient experience company based in South Bend, Indiana, for $6.75 billion. (Courtesy of Qualtrics) 

In a deal that analysts expect to shake up the customer experience industry landscape, Provo’s Qualtrics has acquired Press Ganey Forsta, a South Bend, Indiana-based patient experience, employee experience and market research platform. 

Qualtrics paid $6.75 billion for the company with a mix of cash and private Qualtrics equity, according to company statements and legal filings. The valuation of the transaction included assumed debt. 

The intended acquisition was first announced late last year but was held up in March due to financing concerns by a JPMorgan-led syndicate of 11 banks engaged to finance the deal. The parties now expect the deal to close in coming months, once customary and regulatory hurdles are cleared.

The combined operations and abilities of the two companies create one of the largest platforms in the world that use artificial intelligence to streamline patient and customer feedback data analytics that can be leveraged in real time to improve services for clients. Analysts expect the new mega-platform to make it more challenging for the dozens of capital-seeking AI startups entering the field to match the Qualtrics-Press Ganey decades of experience and scope of services, according to a posting on the American Hospital Association website.

Press Ganey Forsta, previously owned by Ares Management and Los Angeles-based private equity group Leonard Green & Partners, provides software, analytics, surveys and consulting services that help organizations measure and improve how people experience their products, services, healthcare and workplaces. Its technology is used for patient satisfaction and healthcare quality measurement along with customer feedback and sentiment analysis. Its experience management services are particularly strong in the healthcare industry.

Press Ganey Forsta employs more than 3,000 people across its global locations. It serves 41,000 companies and organizations — including the majority of U.S. hospitals — in about 100 countries.

Qualtrics CEO Jason Maynard characterized the deal, which he cast as “the largest tech acquisition in Utah history,” around what he called “the Experience Gap,” explaining that patients now benchmark their healthcare interactions against the best consumer experiences they encounter anywhere in their lives. The combined companies say they intend to deploy their merged dataset as the foundation for AI systems capable of predicting patient needs and personalizing care delivery in the healthcare industry, extending Qualtrics’ existing reach in financial services, retail, hospitality and the public sector.

“AI permanently changed what people expect from every experience in their lives,” Maynard said in a statement. “That’s why the future will be won in the ‘Experience Gap.’ Leaders want to deliver intelligent, responsive and predictable human experiences. In the age of AI, experience is now the differentiator in every industry, and for the first time ever, that problem can be solved in healthcare. The rich data and context intelligence we are building raises the standard for what experience management can do across every industry we serve.”

Qualtrics praised Press Ganey Forsta in its announcement, calling it “the trusted standard for healthcare experience.” Citing its presence in the majority of U.S. hospitals, Qualtrics said, “This proprietary advantage is based on decades of patient voice data, deep relationships with provider, payer and post-acute leaders. This unique combination is purpose-built for the clinical, regulatory and operational realities of care delivery.”

Qualtrics was founded in 2002 in Provo by brothers Ryan and Jared Smith, their father Scott Smith and Stuart Orgill. Originally launched from the Smith family basement, the company began as an online survey and research platform aimed at universities and academic researchers. As demand grew, Qualtrics expanded into corporate customer and employee feedback software, helping pioneer the “experience management” industry.

The company remained largely bootstrapped for a decade before receiving major venture funding in 2012. Qualtrics grew rapidly into one of Utah’s most successful tech firms and a flagship of the “Silicon Slopes” startup scene. In 2019, German software giant SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion, though the company later returned to public markets before being acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake in 2023.

“Bringing Qualtrics and Press Ganey Forsta together will accelerate the adoption of AI and create the most comprehensive platform for improving the human experience,” Zig Serafin, CEO of Qualtrics, in a statement. “Combining Qualtrics’ AI platform with Press Ganey Forsta’s trusted analytics and deep expertise creates an opportunity to deliver exceptional value and measurable outcomes for our customers.

“There’s no more important proving ground for experience management than healthcare, where better experiences for patients and employees directly impact better outcomes and quality of care,” Serafin continued. “We’re excited to welcome Press Ganey Forsta to Qualtrics and deliver this future together.”

Leaders and analysts in the healthcare industry generally praised the combination of the two customer experience giants.

Rob Allen, president and CEO of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, said Qualtrics’ investment in Press Ganey Forsta marks a “groundbreaking move” for healthcare that will “positively transform healthcare experience and quality for the future.”

“Qualtrics and Press Ganey Forsta together have unique capabilities and expertise to scale this across the industry,” Allen said.

“This combination brings together two dynamic companies that provide deep AI-powered analytic insights and drive improvement, ultimately accelerating our goal to reach zero harm and build resiliency in the workforce, with the benefactors being our patients, families, clinicians and team members,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, quoted in the Qualtrics release.

“The combo locks up healthcare for Qualtrics, as they’ll now have a massive inventory of longitudinal patient and clinician signals, wrapped in compliance workflows and integrations, that most horizontal platforms simply don’t have,” Bill Staikos, founder of customer experience podcast “Be Customer-Led,” told customer experience website CX Today.