Zingle, a startup whose software is used by hospitality, travel, and retail industries to more easily and quickly connect with their customers via messaging, has been acquired for about $42 million in cash by Medallia, a publicly traded software company in San Francisco.
The Medallia (NYSE: MDLA) IPO earlier this year was one of a number of successful public market debuts by companies offering cloud-based software, often dubbed software-as-a-service. Businesses use the company’s software tools to help monitor customer satisfaction.
Carlsbad, CA-based Zingle, founded in 2009 by CEO Ford Blakely, allows businesses such as hotels to view and manage many of the messages coming in via text from its customers—say, a guest who texts requesting a late checkout, and another who sends a Facebook message—in the same place. As of 2017, giant hotel chains including Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) and Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND) were using its products, according to the company.
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