TIMELINE-Zendesk: Bows to buyout after trying to stand alone

June 24 (Reuters) - Zendesk Inc is set to be taken private by investment firms led by Hellman and Friedman in a $10.2 billion deal, a steep discount to the prior offer that valued the software firm at as much as $16 billion. The deal brings to an end months-long saga for the San Francisco-based software firm, which has been under pressure from investor Jana Partners to sell itself. Below is a timeline of the major events in the past few months: Date Development Oct 28, 2021 Zendesk says it will buy owner of popular SurveyMonkey platform Momentive Global Inc in an all-stock deal valued at around $4 billion. Nov 30, 2021 In a letter to Zendesk board, activist investor Jana Partners urges the firm to abandon a deal to buy Momentive Global. Jan 11, 2022 Investor Janus Henderson Investors joins Jana to oppose Zendesk's Momentive deal. Feb 10, 2022 Zendesk rejects a bid from unnamed private equity firms for as much $16 billion. The offer was in the range of $127 to $132 per share in cash. Feb 14, 2022 Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co tell investors in Zendesk to vote against the takeover of Momentive Global, calling it too risky. Feb 16, 2022 Jana nominates four directors to Zendesk board, arguing the company must be rehabilitated after an unpopular attempt to buy Momentive Global. Feb 25, 2022 Zendesk says its investors rejected a proposed takeover of Momentive Global and that it terminated the merger agreement. March 17, 2022 Jana urges Zendesk shareholders to vote its four nominees to the software firm's board at the company's annual meeting. June 8, 2022 Jana says it intends to sue Zendesk after it failed to set a date for its 2022 annual meeting. June 9, 2022 Zendesk says it would continue as an independent public company after it completed a business review. Says it would hold its annual shareholder meeting on Aug. 17. June 14, 2022 The Wall Street Journal reports that Zendesk is in talks to settle with Jana Partners, which could involve Mikkel Svane stepping down as chief executive and some changes to the board. June 24, 2022 Zendesk says it will be acquired by a consortium of private equity firms led by Hellman and Friedman and Permira in a $10.2 billion deal. (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)