4 ms·

What is this, and why is this on the front page of HN? Are either Qlik or Thoma Bravo companies that I should know about?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
parasubvert 10y ago
Qlik is one of the major data visualization tools like Tableau. This is part of a trend of activist investors and/or private equity taking companies private because the Street has unrealistic expectations.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- mark_integerdsv 10y ago
  Interesting, could you point to some other examples or otherwise expand a bit on this please? I work in the field and I'm currently looking at choosing software, this info might be very important in these decisions.
elgabogringo 10y ago
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=qlik http://lmgtfy.com/?q=qlik
- quadrature 10y ago
  I think they mean it more in the context of why its relevant to HN. usually we only talk about acquisitions of YC companies.
  - qq66 10y ago
    It's relevant because it's a $3b sale of a data visualization software company, which is more than any YC acquisition and bigger than all but a handful of YC companies.
    - genericpseudo 10y ago
      And it's a public-to-private transaction, not a takeover.
      - ledude 10y ago
        "In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the target) by another (the acquirer, or bidder). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/takeover.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/takeover.asp
        genericpseudo 10y ago
        OK, but my meaning was hopefully clear. It's essentially a leveraged MBO.
  - untog 10y ago
    > usually we only talk about acquisitions of YC companies. That's objectively untrue.
_RPM 10y ago
All due respect, but i'm not sure it's a violation of the rules for a link about a company to be on the front page without you knowing who the company is.
- aaronbrethorst 10y ago
  It's not. I was looking for context beyond what a press release could provide. All due respect.
jacquesm 10y ago
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/thoma-bravo https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/thoma-bravo https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/qliktech#/entity https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/qliktech#/entity
cthulhu-bot 10y ago
Thoma Bravo is and let me tell you why. The last company I worked at went through an acquisition with Thoma Bravo and the very next day after acquisition was confirmed we walked into the office and there were security guards in suits with ear pieces patrolling the office. At 9am they locked half of us in conference rooms and told us that everyone who wasn't in a conference room was getting laid off. We weren't allowed to leave the conference rooms for an hour out of "respect" for everyone gathering their stuff into boxes and they said that the security was there for "our safety". Thoma Bravo is currently bleeding that company dry and running it on a skeleton crew while it slowly circles the drain. This experience has made me super wary of private equity firms in general but this company in particular.
- chris_wot 10y ago
  That's terrible!
- pinewurst 10y ago
  Attachmate which owns SUSE Linux is another one of Thoma Bravo's creatures btw
- aaronbrethorst 10y ago
  Awesome, thank you.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  I guess we will know in 24 hours what happens with Qlik then.
- frik 10y ago
  I guess Compuware, Detroit / Dynatrace. Or Riverbed. Having several similar products ... you know what it means: https://thomabravo.com/portfolio/all/current/ https://thomabravo.com/portfolio/all/current/
  - cthulhu-bot 10y ago
    Several similar products indeed. Since I was at none of the above it seems they have a track record now and people should know what to expect.
chris_wot 10y ago
Never heard of Thoma Bravo, but I suggest that if you have any interest in BI tools that you at least learn who Qlik are.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

parasubvert 10y ago

Qlik is one of the major data visualization tools like Tableau. This is part of a trend of activist investors and/or private equity taking companies private because the Street has unrealistic expectations.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
mark_integerdsv 10y ago
Interesting, could you point to some other examples or otherwise expand a bit on this please? I work in the field and I'm currently looking at choosing software, this info might be very important in these decisions.

elgabogringo 10y ago

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=qlik http://lmgtfy.com/?q=qlik

quadrature 10y ago
I think they mean it more in the context of why its relevant to HN. usually we only talk about acquisitions of YC companies.
- qq66 10y ago
  It's relevant because it's a $3b sale of a data visualization software company, which is more than any YC acquisition and bigger than all but a handful of YC companies.
  - genericpseudo 10y ago
    And it's a public-to-private transaction, not a takeover.
    - ledude 10y ago
      "In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the target) by another (the acquirer, or bidder). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/takeover.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/takeover.asp
      - genericpseudo 10y ago
        OK, but my meaning was hopefully clear. It's essentially a leveraged MBO.
- untog 10y ago
  > usually we only talk about acquisitions of YC companies. That's objectively untrue.

_RPM 10y ago

All due respect, but i'm not sure it's a violation of the rules for a link about a company to be on the front page without you knowing who the company is.

aaronbrethorst 10y ago
It's not. I was looking for context beyond what a press release could provide. All due respect.

jacquesm 10y ago

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/thoma-bravo https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/thoma-bravo https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/qliktech#/entity https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/qliktech#/entity

cthulhu-bot 10y ago

Thoma Bravo is and let me tell you why. The last company I worked at went through an acquisition with Thoma Bravo and the very next day after acquisition was confirmed we walked into the office and there were security guards in suits with ear pieces patrolling the office. At 9am they locked half of us in conference rooms and told us that everyone who wasn't in a conference room was getting laid off. We weren't allowed to leave the conference rooms for an hour out of "respect" for everyone gathering their stuff into boxes and they said that the security was there for "our safety". Thoma Bravo is currently bleeding that company dry and running it on a skeleton crew while it slowly circles the drain. This experience has made me super wary of private equity firms in general but this company in particular.

chris_wot 10y ago
That's terrible!
pinewurst 10y ago
Attachmate which owns SUSE Linux is another one of Thoma Bravo's creatures btw
aaronbrethorst 10y ago
Awesome, thank you.
jacquesm 10y ago
I guess we will know in 24 hours what happens with Qlik then.
frik 10y ago
I guess Compuware, Detroit / Dynatrace. Or Riverbed. Having several similar products ... you know what it means: https://thomabravo.com/portfolio/all/current/ https://thomabravo.com/portfolio/all/current/
- cthulhu-bot 10y ago
  Several similar products indeed. Since I was at none of the above it seems they have a track record now and people should know what to expect.

chris_wot 10y ago

Never heard of Thoma Bravo, but I suggest that if you have any interest in BI tools that you at least learn who Qlik are.