What's going on?

Customer service software company Zendesk finally agreed to be bought out for $10 billion on Friday.

What does this mean?

Zendesk has been getting on investors� last nerve lately. First, a $4 billion agreement to buy SurveyMonkey-owner Momentive Global late last year was met with derision, and Zendesk�s stock subsequently plunged. That forced the company to drop the deal altogether in February. Then, that same month, a group of private equity (PE) firms offered to buy out the company for $17 billion, but Zendesk refused on the grounds that the bid was too low. Again, investors weren�t happy. And even though the company did then reach out to nearly 30 prospective buyers, it was hardly likely to find a better offer with tech valuations tumbling.

After all that, Zendesk announced on Friday that it had agreed to be bought out by a group of PE firms � among them Permira � for $10 billion. That�s around 34% more than it was worth before the deal was announced, but around 41% less than if it had accepted the first offer�

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Let�s call the whole thing off.
Zendesk embarked on this saga mostly because activist investor Jana Partners has been pushing hard for change at the company, even holding talks to replace the CEO earlier this month. Failing that, Jana was just keen to get a quick and dirty sale. That way, investors who have consistently been less than satisfied with the company could at least get a return on their investment.

Zooming out: Taboo in Japan.
Activist investors have also been putting pressure on Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, which is reportedly fielding offers of as much as $22 billion to take the company private. That�s particularly notable given that PE firms generally aren�t well-received in Japan. So if those investors are able to close the deal, it would be the biggest they�ve ever pulled off in the country.