Intuit confirmed the rumors that it is in the process of buying the email marketing solution Mailchimp. The $12 billion will be paid in cash and stock.
The investment is huge for Intuit, but the firm is certain of the deal. Commentators pointed out that the company is spending an entire 10% of its market capitalization to acquire Mailchimp.
Intuit is not known in the email marketing space but for billing software solutions like QuickBooks and TurboTax.
The company stated that this is part of a bigger plan. Inuit’s strategy is “to become the center of small business growth; and to disrupt the small business market.”
Essentially, it is diversifying its offerings to become a more well-rounded CRM platform. This is nothing new—it is what most players in the field have been striving toward for years.
The deal seems advantageous for Intuit and Mailchimp’s owners. However, the email marketing powerhouse’s employees say they’ve been left with the short end of the stick.
Mailcrimped
Mailchimp was founded in 2001, and its founders prided themselves on maintaining an indie status. They reportedly claimed they’d never sell Mailchimp and rebuffed attempts by venture funds to invest.
Despite predictions by venture capitalists that the business would fail, it went from strength to strength. It’s now regarded as a leader in the email marketing and autoresponder industry.
A piece by Insider details the grievances of employees in the face of the sale. Mailchimp workers didn’t get equity when recruited. Ironically, they were sold on the benefits of joining a small business that would never sell or go public.
Employees feel betrayed by the founders’ actions not only because they’re against their promise but also because they have nothing to show for it. One said, "You don't get a company to $12 billion without the labor of a lot of people, but most of us will never see anything from it."
The potential effect of the deal on its offerings remains to be seen.
Garan is a writer interested in how tech reshapes the environment, and how the environment reshapes tech. You'll usually find him inoculating against future shock and arguing with bots.
