Engaged Capital Calls on BlackLine, Inc. to Announce Exploration of Strategic Alternatives

Core Viewpoint - Engaged Capital urges BlackLine, Inc. to explore strategic alternatives, particularly in light of renewed acquisition interest from SAP SE, believing that a sale would be the best outcome for stockholders due to BlackLine's inability to generate sustainable value in the public market [1][5]. Summary by Sections Engagement with BlackLine - Engaged Capital is a significant stockholder of BlackLine and has faced challenges in meaningful engagement with the company's management, which has been unresponsive and difficult to schedule meetings with [2][3]. - Despite these challenges, Engaged Capital continues to hold shares, believing in BlackLine's strategic value, which has been trading at a substantial discount to its fair value [2][3]. Acquisition Interest - Reports indicate that SAP SE made a formal offer to acquire BlackLine earlier this year, which was rejected by BlackLine's Board of Directors [3]. - Engaged Capital expresses disappointment over the rejection, especially given BlackLine's poor performance in creating stockholder value and its underperformance compared to relevant software indices [3][4]. Stock Performance - BlackLine's total stockholder return has been negative over various time frames: -8% over 1 year, 0% over 3 years, and -47% over 5 years, contrasting sharply with the positive returns of the IGV Software Index and S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index [4][5]. - The company has significantly underperformed relative to these indices, with a relative performance of -35% over 1 year against the IGV Software Index [4]. Call to Action - Engaged Capital calls for the Board to act urgently and engage financial advisors to run a strategic alternatives process to maximize stockholder value [5]. - The firm emphasizes that the Board's fiduciary duties are to all stockholders, not just management, and expresses readiness to hold the Board accountable if necessary [6].