Email to Qlik Employees



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Email to Qlik Employees
I am pleased to share with you today some exciting news about the future of Qlik, and our plans to begin the next chapter in our incredible journey. And I have no doubt that our future will be bright, and filled with exciting new opportunities and challenges.
Today we announced we have entered into an agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, a leading technology-focused private equity firm. You can read today’s press release (http://investor.qlik.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=973980) and please plan to attend a Town Hall with me and members of the X Team later this morning. A separate invitation will be sent shortly.
With a purchase price of $30.50 per share, Qlik is valued at approximately $3.0 billion, which demonstrates the tremendous value we have created together over the past several decades. As with transactions of this nature, the agreement is subject to stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. With the closing of this transaction we will become a private company, which we expect to occur in the third quarter of 2016.
This is a major milestone in our efforts to grow our business and build upon the great foundation we’ve created together. Going private will position us exceptionally well and gives us added flexibility to continue to develop industry-leading solutions and products to our customers – which will help us continue to grow as a company.
Thoma Bravo is one of the most experienced and successful private equity firms in the United States, providing financial, strategic and operating support to businesses and their management teams. They are deeply knowledgeable about our industry and recognize the value that Qlik delivers– a platform that lets our customers see the whole story that lives within their data.
Throughout this process, the X team and I have come to know the Thoma Bravo team well, and we are fully confident that they are the right partner for Qlik both strategically and culturally. They have the highest praise for our team members, our innovation and the reputation we’ve earned in the market. They are now eager to partner to achieve even greater success.
I know there are questions about what this means for you and the future of Qlik going forward. While we will seek to answer all of your questions in the coming days and weeks, what’s most important now is that we move forward as one team, appreciate the incredible opportunity ahead of us.
What makes Qlik special is not going away nor are our business drivers: to win new business, expand our operating margin and accelerate profitability. Please share your enthusiasm and reassure our customers, partners and all stakeholders that Qlik is creating value for the long term and today’s news is just another step in our ongoing journey.
Thanks for your continued commitment. I am especially proud that this team has not been distracted by the media speculation over the past several months. You have continued to deliver with both focus and results.
Now let’s build the next exciting chapter together!
Lars


Radnor-based QLIK accepts Thoma Bravo's $3 billion, $28.50 per share offer (Update)


Tom Paine



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This morning QLIK accepted PE firm Thoma Bravo's offer of $3 Billion, or $30.50 per share. Headquarters will remain in Radnor.

The price is a 40 percent premium to the company’s "unaffected 10-day average stock price prior to March 3." That's the date that Elliot Management announced it had bought 8.9% of QLIK shares. Elliot's purchase followed a short-term dip brought on by a dissapointing earnings report and a critical article in Barron's.

My guess is potential investors who looked at QLIK saw a mixture of good and bad news coming down, and were not willing to pay a premium over the price range shares settled in after Elliot's stake was announced.

QlIK had $370 million in cash & equivalents as 3/31.

QLIK's headcount is widely dispersed geographically, and less than 10% of its roughly 2500 employees work out of Radnor.

Another issue is what happens to CEO Lars Björk. He has had more pluses than minuses in leading QLIK to get to this point, but has been slow to respond to some key changes (dataviz, big data) in the market. My guess is he will be gone, one way or another.






Reuters is reporting that Thoma Bravo is prepared to make an offer to Qlik Technologies, perhaps as soon as today.

Thoma Bravo will make a binding offer of as much as $2.8 billion, or $28 to $30 per share, the report says. That price is really not higher than Qlik's trading range either before or after Paul Singer's Elliot Management Corp bought roughly a 10% stake in the Radnor-based business intelligence software vendor, with the exception of s brief dip in February. Elliot Management's buy was reported in early March. QLIK was trading as high as $32 today.

There are people who believe Qlik's technology is superior to Tableau's or that of most other BI or DataVis companies. But if the Reuters report is accurate, perhaps no one is willing to step forward and pay a premium.

Based out of San Francisco and Chicago, Thoma Bravo is not a stranger to the Philadelphia area.Its portfolio includes iPipeline of Exton and Sparta Systems of Hamilton, NJ. I consider it to be one of smartest buyout firms in the software/SaaS space.


Denn Howlett has a somwhat skeptical view of QlikTech and the auction process.

Update: Qlik Will Likely Reject P.E. Bid As Too Low, Say CLSA, Brean (Barron' Tech Trader Daily)


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