Meetings technology specialist Cvent has been acquired by private equity giant Blackstone in a deal worth $4.6 billion, the companies announced on Thursday (15 June).

The transaction, which was first announced in March, includes a significant minority investment from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and participation from existing stockholder Vista Equity Partners.

With the acquisition now complete, Cvent's common stock has ceased trading and will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US,?while shareholders will be paid $8.50 per share in cash.

Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Cvent, said: ¡°Events are more important and more complex than ever before. We believe this partnership with Blackstone positions Cvent to continue leading the market for best-in-class technology to maximise event ROI and impact.?

¡°We will continue to aggressively invest in the innovative solutions organisations need to more deeply engage with their customers, prospects and employees that are so critical to their success,¡± he added.

Cvent, which was founded in 1999, has more than 21,000 customers globally in the corporate, non-profit, higher education and hospitality sectors. The company has helped manage more than six million events since its creation and lists over 300,000 hotels and venues on its online supplier network platform.

David Schwartz, senior managing director at Blackstone, said: ¡°Cvent has long been a go-to event management partner for organisations of all kinds, enabling them to embrace technology solutions in an increasingly digital world.?

¡°We¡¯re thrilled to support its continued growth and product advancements, bringing Blackstone¡¯s global resources to bear and leveraging the firm¡¯s deep expertise and thematic focus on hospitality, events and real estate.¡±