MariaDB has been launched as a fork of MySQL about 15 years ago, following concerns about MySQL's independence after a series of big-money acquisitions led to Oracle effectively owning the open source relational database management system. A corporate entity of the same name, MariaDB, went on to raise about $230 million in funding over the years to sell premium features and services on top of the open source project, with the company eventually going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in late 2022.
The public listing was anything but fruitful, with its peak rating opening day of $445 million (a figure already well below its peak private valuation of $672 million ) which dropped dramatically in the following months to less than $12 million at the beginning of 2024. A earnings report series below of the average had also pushed the NYSE to notify MariaDB that did not comply with listing rules that state that a company's average global market capitalization cannot fall below $50 million in any consecutive 30-day trading period.
In the wake of all this, K1 submitted a non-binding proposal for MariaDB in February, offering $0,55 per share, which was equivalent to approximately $37 million, a premium of 189% over MariaDB's closing price on February 5. Despite a slightly higher tentative offer by business software company Progress is it never materialized , K1 went on to secure a majority of MariaDB shares in late July, or 88,7% of the issued shares. This amount was high enough to kickstart a Notice of mandatory acquisition of shares , which meant it was legally entitled to purchase all outstanding common shares from shareholders who had not accepted the offer, at the same price of $0,55, and that is what ended on August 26.
K1 has a proven track record of late-stage investing in its 12-year history, although it only has two previous take-private deals to its name: Elmo e Attracted , both deals completed in the last two years. With this latest deal, K1 says it intends to continue developing the product and double its customer base, which already includes the likes of the U.S. Department of Defense, Nokia, RedHat, Samsung and Deutsche Bank.
“With the support of K1, we are ready to expand our capabilities and continue to deliver the innovative database solutions our customers rely on,” de Souza said in a statement. “This partnership enables us to further drive product innovation, enhancing our ability to support new AI- and cloud-driven workloads. We remain focused on making it easier for customers to transition away from expensive alternatives and meet the rapidly growing demands for AI- and cloud-based solutions.”
At the time of acquisition, MariaDB had approximately 700 active customers, including Deutsche Bank AG, Nokia Corp., Red Hat Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., ServiceNow Inc. and the U.S. Department of Defense.
In addition to the acquisition, MariaDB also announced the appointment of Rohit de Souza as CEO. Rohit’s previous experience includes roles at Actian Corp. and Micro Focus International plc, where he led global organizations that drove growth and transformation. Former CEO Paul O’Brien will remain involved with the company in an advisory capacity.
“Together, we aim to accelerate product innovation and continue MariaDB's mission of providing high-quality, enterprise-grade solutions to meet growing market demands,” he said in a statement. notes K1 managing director Sujit Banerjee.
The full press release translated.
Below you can find the Italian translation of the official press release that you can find on the official website here: https://mariadb.com/newsroom/press-releases/k1-acquires-a-leading-database-software-company-mariadb-and-appoints-new-ceo/
K1 Acquires MariaDB, a Major Database Software Company, Appoints New CEO Strategic investment aims to accelerate MariaDB's mission to deliver innovative, scalable database solutions with new executive leadership to drive next phase of growth
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., MILPITAS, Calif., and DUBLIN, Ireland – September 10, 2024 – K1 Investment Management, LLC (“K1”), one of the largest investors in small-cap enterprise software companies, today announced the completion of its tender offer to acquire 100 percent of the issued common shares of MariaDB plc (NYSE: MRDB) (“MariaDB”), a leader in enterprise database solutions. This strategic investment positions MariaDB to further expand its presence in the enterprise market and continue to provide innovative and scalable solutions globally.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley and Dublin, Ireland, MariaDB serves nearly 700 customers in industries including banking, telecommunications, government, healthcare, and e-commerce. Notable customers include Deutsche Bank, Nokia, RedHat, Samsung, and ServiceNow, along with major public sector entities such as the U.S. Department of Defense and numerous federal civil and intelligence agencies. Known for its innovation, scalability, and reliability, MariaDB's database products power mission-critical applications across its transactional, analytical, and mixed workloads.
“To run our strategic risk platform at Deutsche Bank, we needed a reliable, high-performance database while managing a huge amount of data. That’s why we turned to MariaDB,” said Liang Ma, Director Core Strats at Deutsche Bank. “With MariaDB Enterprise Server, we have a database that offers the stability we need at a fraction of the cost of proprietary alternatives.”
MariaDB also announced the appointment of Rohit de Souza as CEO. Rohit brings significant leadership experience from his roles at Actian and Micro Focus, where he led global organizations in pursuit of growth and transformation. Paul O'Brien, former CEO of MariaDB, will remain involved with the company in an advisory capacity.
“We are thrilled to welcome MariaDB to the K1 portfolio and have Rohit lead the company into its next phase of growth,” said Sujit Banerjee, Managing Director of K1 Operations, LLC. “Together, we aim to accelerate product innovation and continue MariaDB’s mission of providing high-quality, enterprise-grade solutions to meet the growing needs of the market.”
MariaDB continues to innovate with upcoming product releases, including the launch of vector search in MariaDB Server and a Kubernetes (K8s) Operator, addressing AI and cloud-native trends. These advancements enable enterprises to build AI-driven applications and deploy scalable solutions, including advanced recommender systems, image-based search, and intuitive chatbots that leverage large language models (LLMs) and data analytics tools, all while ensuring data trust at enterprise scale.
“With the support of K1, we are ready to expand our capabilities and continue to deliver the innovative database solutions our customers rely on,” said Rohit de Souza, CEO of MariaDB. “This partnership allows us to further drive product innovation, advancing our ability to support new AI- and cloud-driven workloads. Our focus remains on making it easier for customers to transition away from expensive alternatives and meet the rapidly growing demands for AI- and cloud-based solutions.”
“Looking ahead, with new leadership and the partnership of K1, I have never been more confident about the future of MariaDB. It has been a pleasure serving as CEO of MariaDB and I look forward to supporting Rohit as he transitions into the company,” said Paul O’Brien, former CEO of MariaDB.
MariaDB is the latest transaction announced by K1, following the strategic growth investment in Board Intelligence and the sale of GoCanvas to Nemetschek Group (FRA
). This marks K1's third privatisation transaction following Elmo (ASX: ELO), a leading provider of cloud-based human capital management solutions, and Attraqt (LON: ATQT), a pioneer in AI-driven search and merchandising solutions for online retailers.
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to K1. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and A&L Goodbody LLP acted as legal advisors to K1. Baker Botts LLP and Matheson LLP acted as legal advisors to MariaDB.
About MariaDB
MariaDB seeks to eliminate the constraints and complexity of proprietary databases, allowing organizations to reinvest in what matters most: rapid development of customer-facing applications. Enterprises can rely on a single, comprehensive database for all their needs, which can be deployed in minutes for transactional, analytical, or hybrid use cases. Trusted by organizations such as Deutsche Bank, DBS Bank, Red Hat, ServiceNow, and Samsung, MariaDB delivers value to customers without the financial burden of legacy database vendors. For more information, please visit mariadb.com.
About K1
K1 is one of the largest investors in small-cap enterprise software companies. Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, K1 partners with strong management teams of high-growth software companies, using operationally focused growth strategies to rapidly scale portfolio companies. Dedicated to transforming industries and driving productivity, K1 has partnered with over 240 enterprise software companies since inception.
K1’s unique focus, driven by its single team, single office and single fund strategy, has resulted in successes for many of its portfolio companies. Examples include Apttus (sold to Thoma Bravo), Buildium (sold to RealPage, NASDAQ: RP), Certent (sold to insightsoftware), Checkmarx (sold to Insight Partners and Hellman & Friedman), Clarizen (sold to Planview), FMG Suite (sold to Aurora Capital Partners), GoCanvas (sold to Nemetschek Group, FRA: NEM), Granicus (sold to Vista Equity Partners and Harvest Partners), Inthinc (sold to Orbcomm, NASDAQ: ORBC), Litera (sold to Hg Capital), Rave Mobile Safety (sold to TCV; now owned by Motorola Solutions, NYSE: MSI), TeamDynamix (sold to Level Equity), Unified (now owned by iHeartMedia), WorkForce Software (now owned by Insight Partners and Elliott Investment Management), and Zapproved (sold to Exterro).
For more information, visit k1.com to execute K1 Investment Management on LinkedIn.
