Qlik (NASDAQ: QLIK) Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Thoma Bravo for $30.50 Per Share
Transaction Valued at Approximately $3.0 Billion
Purchase Price Represents 40% Premium to Unaffected Stock Price
RADNOR, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Qlik (NASDAQ: QLIK) (the “Company”), a leader in visual analytics delivering intuitive solutions for self-service data visualization and guided analytics, today announced that, following a review of strategic alternatives, it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by leading private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo, LLC in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.0 billion. The agreement was unanimously approved by Qlik’s board of directors.
“We are excited by Qlik’s product roadmap and confident that we can apply our experiences working with market-leading software companies to accelerate Qlik’s growth and market share across all geographies.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Qlik shareholders will receive $30.50 in cash for each share of Qlik common stock they hold. This price represents a premium of 40% to the Company’s unaffected 10 day average stock price prior to March 3, 2016 of $21.83.1
“We believe the proposed transaction is in the best interest of Qlik’s shareholders and provides the Company with additional flexibility to execute our strategic plan as we continue to diligently provide customers with the premier products and services they have come to expect,” said Lars Björk, Chief Executive Officer of Qlik. “Thoma Bravo recognizes the value that Qlik delivers – a platform that lets our customers see the whole story that lives within their data. Thoma Bravo has an excellent track record of investing in outstanding technology businesses for the long-term, and I am confident our employees, customers and partners will greatly benefit from our partnership with them.”
“We look forward to partnering with the Qlik team as they continue to grow their platform-based approach to business intelligence (BI) and analytics,” said Orlando Bravo, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “As the need for analytic solutions grows, Qlik is well-positioned to continue to drive innovation and lead the market.”
“Qlik’s platform blends best-in-class associative analytics and visualizations with data governance, scalability and interoperability,” said Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “We are excited by Qlik’s product roadmap and confident that we can apply our experiences working with market-leading software companies to accelerate Qlik’s growth and market share across all geographies.”
Qlik will maintain its corporate headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania and continue to service its customers globally led by its existing executive team. The proposed transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to approval by Qlik’s shareholders and regulatory authorities and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Qlik and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP are serving as its legal advisors. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Thoma Bravo and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as its legal advisor. Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is serving as the administrative and collateral agent, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner for the $1.075 billion unitranche credit facility in support of the acquisition. Ares Capital Management is leading the syndication. Additional joint lead arrangers include Golub Capital LLC, TPG Specialty Lending, Inc. and Varagon Capital Partners, LP.
About Qlik
Qlik (NASDAQ: QLIK) is a leader in visual analytics. Its portfolio of products meets customers’ growing needs from reporting and self-service visual analysis to guided, embedded and custom analytics. Approximately 39,000 customers rely on Qlik solutions to gain meaning out of information from varied sources, exploring the hidden relationships within data that lead to insights that ignite good ideas. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Qlik has offices around the world with more than 1,700 partners covering more than 100 countries.
About Thoma Bravo, LLC
Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity investment firm building on a 30+ year history of providing equity and strategic support to experienced management teams and growing companies. The firm seeks to create value by collaborating with company management to improve business operations, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions. Thoma Bravo invests with a particular focus on application and infrastructure software and technology enabled services. The firm currently manages a series of private equity funds representing more than $16.0 billion of equity commitments. More information about Thoma Bravo can be found at www.thomabravo.com.
