Troubled open-saucy database MariaDB has garnered shareholder support for a private equity acquisition offer.
The MySQL derivative, which counts Samsung, Nokia, and ServiceNow among its clientele, has recently been the focus of competing bids from the private equity firm K1 Investment Management and the application development and infrastructure company Progress Software.
The consortium led by K1 announced that it had “received irrevocable commitments to accept the offer from approximately 68.5 per cent of the existing MariaDB shares” in a recent SEC filing.
In February, K1 Investment Management extended an unsolicited offer of £29.7 million (£0.43 per share) to privatise MariaDB through its fund, K5 Private Investors. At that time, MariaDB’s board indicated evaluating the offer and seeking counsel.
This proposition prompted a warning from one of MariaDB’s financiers that it might seize control of the company’s accounts due to the stipulations of its loan.
In March, Progress Software disclosed its contemplation of a counterproposal of £0.47 per share, placing MariaDB’s valuation at roughly £31.9 million. Progress accentuated the significance of MariaDB’s relational database management products for customers needing a scalable, open-source solution supported by a dependable enterprise software firm.
Notwithstanding the interest from Progress Software, most shareholders have opted to endorse the K1 bid.
MariaDB has encountered financial challenges in the past two years. Following its public listing on the New York Stock Exchange towards the end of 2022, the company proclaimed job reductions in April 2023 and issued a “going concern” alert.
In October 2023, the company procured a £20.8 million loan facility but elected to discontinue several strategic products and diminish its workforce by 28 per cent. This included the unexpected decision to terminate its DBaaS service.
In December, MariaDB segregated its SkySQL DBaaS into a newly formed cloud database enterprise bearing the same designation.
