Abu Dhabi Investment Fund Acquires “Significant Minority Stake” In Qlik

Current owner private equity giant Thoma Bravo will remain the majority stakeholder in the provider of data analytics, AI and data management software.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the Arab country’s Abu sovereign wealth investment fund has acquired a “significant minority stake” in data analytics and data management software developer Qlik.

Private equity giant Thoma Bravo, Qlik’s owner since 2016, will retain a majority ownership in the company and is also making a new equity investment in Qlik, according to an announcement from Thoma Bravo and Qlik. A consortium of other investors is also expected to invest in Qlik as part of the complex transaction.

Qlik did not disclose the value of the ADIA investment. A Financial Times story, citing sources, said ADIA is investing about $1 billion in Qlik, putting the value of the data analytics company at around $10 billion.

“We look forward to accelerating Qlik’s impact in the era of AI and welcome ADIA into our next phase of growth,” Qlik CEO Mike Capone said in a statement. “Our team has seized the AI opportunity, grounded in a commitment to strong partnerships, customer success, and solutions that drive real competitive advantage. These principles have fueled our growth and enabled us to deliver meaningful, tangible value from data and analytics.”

Qlik is a leading company in the data analytics space with its popular Qlik Sense and Qlik Cloud Analytics software. The company is also a major provider of data integration and data quality management tools thanks to a series of acquisitions, including its purchase of Talend in May 2023.

Thoma Bravo acquired then-publicly traded Qlik in 2016 in an all-cash deal valued at about $3 billion. Thoma Bravo acquired Talend in 2021 and helped engineer the Qlik-Talend combination. Altogether Qlik has made 14 strategic acquisitions since being acquired by the private equity company, Qlik said in the ADIA investment announcement.

ADIA is an investment institution that invests funds on behalf of the government of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the wealthy United Arab Emirates. According to the announcement, the investment in Qlik is being made through a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA.

The Thoma Bravo fund that originally acquired Qlik is selling its stake to ADIA, a group of other large pension and sovereign wealth funds, and two newer Thoma Bravo funds, according to the Financial Times’ description of the complex transaction. Thoma Bravo will remain Qlik’s majority shareholder.

As a private company Qlik does not disclose its financial results. The Financial Times article said Qlik’s business has accelerated over the past year with sales on track to reach $1.5 billion this year and software subscription bookings up 30 percent year-over-year.