Subscriber Experience Specialist Zephr Acquired

US-based cloud-based subscription management platform provider Zuora has announced plans to acquire London-based Zephr, which allows digital publishers to test, optimize and monetize their subscription products. Zuora will pay $44m in cash at close, plus up to $6m earn-out.

Zephr's 'subscription experience platform' helps clients with identity management, intelligent trials, dynamic paywalls, entitlements management, and a decision engine personalizing experiences for each subscriber. Zuora, which already partners with the company, will combine this service with data from its Billing, Collect and Revenue systems, covering tens of billions of dollars of transaction volume each quarter. The resulting solution will offer clients a better understanding of subscriber behavior, allow them to experiment to hone the right digital offerings, and help optimize the digital experience.

Zuora's own research suggests the fastest-growing media companies 'iterate their pricing and packaging twice as often as their industry peers', and the combined suite of products promises the agility to react to changing demands. Tien Tzuo, CEO and founder of Zuora, comments: 'The winners in the media industry are those continuously innovating around new services, bundles, and offers. And where the media industry goes, other industries will follow. This is what combining Zuora and Zephr is about. We're thrilled to welcome our fellow ZEOs into the family'. Zephr Chief James Henderson adds: 'It was a clear decision to join Zuora to accelerate where our platform is headed, and empower all of our customers to nurture and monetize their subscriber relationships'.

Zephr employees, including Henderson and Chris Scott, with whom he co-founded Zephr in 2018, will join Zuora, which says it expects the acquisition to add c.$5m to its annual recurring revenue. The deal is subject to customary approvals and closing conditions, and is expected to close in early September.

Web sites: www.zuora.com and www.zephr.com .