acquisition

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The Pooled-Risk Company Management Company
2 months ago
- David Heinemeier Hansson suggested startup founders should live off revenues rather than sell stock in a liquidity event.
- Running a business requires constant attention, offering neither freedom nor security.
- The ideal scenario is to hire a professional manager or a management company to run the business for you.
- A management company could pool risks from multiple companies, providing insurance against market failures.
- Such pooled-risk management companies exist in the form of acquisitions by public companies.
- Public acquirers are fickle, but over a long enough period (e.g., five years), average behavior is like a pooled-risk manager.
- Startups must be profitable to wait for favorable acquisition cycles.
- Selling a company is actually the optimal version of living off its revenues.
Josh James selling Domo for $400M
2 months ago
- Domo, a Utah business analytics firm, agreed to be acquired by Progress Software Corporation for $400 million, a significant drop from its $2 billion valuation in 2017.
- Progress Software will acquire Domo's assets and employees, assume some liabilities, and continue supporting the Domo platform while providing additional scale and resources.
- After the deal, Domo will change its name and stock ticker but remain a separate publicly-traded company with limited expenses and no debt.
- Domo founder and CEO Josh James, credited with coining 'Silicon Slopes', expressed gratitude to employees and confidence in Progress as a long-term home for the business.
- James' earlier startup Omniture was acquired by Adobe in 2009 for $1.8 billion, a landmark deal that helped establish Utah's tech ecosystem.
- The Omniture acquisition was seen as a seminal moment, proving Utah startups could achieve Silicon Valley-level exits without being based there.
- Domo faced turbulence: it raised over $700 million and hit a $2 billion valuation, but its 2018 IPO valued it at only $511 million, with heavy losses and debt.
SoundCloud Acquires Nina Protocol
2 months ago
- SoundCloud has acquired Nina Protocol, uniting two platforms focused on supporting independent artists.
- Nina artists can opt into SoundCloud's ecosystem for tools like distribution, fan monetization, and equitable streaming revenue.
- SoundCloud will preserve Nina's editorial archive and genre map to enhance music discovery.
- The acquisition aims to help artists build sustainable careers through fan support, monetization, and community tools.
- Nina's CEO stated that SoundCloud shares their values, making it a natural home for their platform.
Prefect Acquires Dagster
2 months ago
- Prefect is acquiring Dagster Labs to merge two popular orchestration tools for data and ML teams.
- Dagster and Dagster+ products will continue unchanged, with the team joining Prefect for ongoing development.
- Founded in 2018, both companies approached orchestration differently: Dagster focuses on asset-based data definition, while Prefect emphasizes dynamic workflow execution.
- The acquisition combines complementary approaches, allowing organizations to use both tools under one company.
- The merger enhances Prefect's portfolio, adding Dagster for outcomes and FastMCP for access, aimed at AI-driven automation and agent orchestration platforms.
Rocketlab acquires Iridium
3 months ago
- Rocket Lab will acquire Iridium in a cash and stock transaction valued at $54 per share, implying an enterprise value of approximately $8.0 billion for Iridium.
- The acquisition aims to create a vertically integrated space company by combining Rocket Lab's launch and satellite manufacturing with Iridium's global network, spectrum, and partner ecosystem.
- The transaction provides Rocket Lab immediate access to space applications like satellite IoT, direct-to-device services, PNT, and safety-of-life services, positioning it as a competitor in the global telecom market.
- Iridium's L-band spectrum and LEO satellite network offer secure, resilient communications and PNT services, supporting over 2.55 million subscribers worldwide.
- The deal is expected to be completed in mid-2027, pending regulatory approvals and stockholder consent, with Rocket Lab securing a $3.6 billion bridge loan for financing.

acquisition

The Pooled-Risk Company Management Company

Josh James selling Domo for $400M

SoundCloud Acquires Nina Protocol

Prefect Acquires Dagster

Rocketlab acquires Iridium