Mindshare acquires Empathica as part of growth strategy

Mindshare Technologies, a leading Voice of the Customer (VoC) technologies provider, has acquired Empathica, a leading global provider of social Customer Experience Management solutions.

The acquisition establishes Mindshare as the largest VoC provider in the food services and retail industries, and will allow the company to grow aggressively in contact centers and hospitality.

The acquisition was financed in part by Sorenson Capital and Peterson Partners. Cascadia Capital served as Empathica’s financial adviser in the transaction.

Empathica’s social CEM and social media technology will be incorporated with Mindshare’s industry-leading VoC platform and extensive text analytics solutions, positioning Mindshare to consolidate and lead the VoC market. With Empathica, Mindshare will serve more than 200,000 locations and business units worldwide. Since inception, the companies will have collected more than 300 million customer reviews combined by the end of 2013. Mindshare will also significantly expand its national and international footprint through Empathica’s strong presence in both North America and Europe.

“In the age of the empowered customer, the ability to get strong, actionable feedback from each customer is becoming of paramount value to companies that want to drive business transformation and brand advocacy,” said John Sperry, CEO of Mindshare. “The addition of Empathica is incredibly valuable in helping us make the voice of the customer that much more valuable in decision making among consumer-facing companies. This acquisition gives Mindshare the strongest customer feedback solutions — and the largest client base in the food services and retail sectors — as we continue to grow across many industries.”

The combined organization will collect VOC surveys in 125 countries and 32 languages, serving the world’s leading brands with a focus in Europe and North America.

“We are excited to join Mindshare and become the dominant player in the industry as a combined entity,” said Mike Amos, founder and CEO of Empathica. “By gaining access to the deepest and widest range of insights in the market, we can empower companies to fully leverage their most valuable asset: their customers.”

“The feedback from the market is clear. Leading companies want a VoC provider that can respond to the most demanding aspects of their global business. With the acquisition of Empathica, Mindshare will stand alone, providing the technology, service and global footprint required to serve the world’s largest and most valuable brands,” added Sperry.