Qualtrics, which specialises in tracking online sentiment,  was planning a stock market listing.

SAP wants the outfit to help its customer relationship management (CRM) software offering and see off rival Salesforce.

Announced late on Sunday, the deal is SAP’s largest acquisition since it bought travel and expense management firm Concur for $8.3 billion in 2014.

One person involved in the deal said it was the largest ever takeover of a technology company on the verge of a market debut.

Qualtrics captures and analyses data on brands and products from real-time sources including social media and email, and should give SAP’s clients better insights into their own customers’ experience.

However, analysts think that SAP was overpaying for the outfit and while it might be a valid strategic rationale andits  top-line growth is impressive, it’s still a bit pricy.

Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith, who owns about 40 percent of the 16-year-old company with his brother and father, will stay on and the company will retain its dual headquarters in Provo, Utah, and Seattle.

Smith told Reuters that the IPO would have valued the company at least at $6 billion.

“We were going to be one day worth $20 billion or $30 billion, like a ServiceNow or a Workday. We were under no financial pressure to do anything.”

Smith said the business had been consistently cash-flow positive since it was founded in his parents’ basement.