Huddle sold; employee shareholders lose out

In a bizarre turn of events, it is being widely reported (original source: Business Insider) that collaboration software start-up, Huddle, published on Sunday, then deleted, a blog announcing that the company was being acquired by San Francisco-based private equity firm Turn/River (operating in the UK as Harmony). The blog was captured by Business Insider (see screenshot) so it certainly seems to have existed at one point. There was also a letter sent to employees and shareholders on Monday, which appears to have been widely circulated.

It’s likely that the blog post, suggesting Huddle was “delighted” with the deal, did not go down well across the company. Though unconfirmed, it is suggested that the majority stake has been acquired for $89m – well below previous past valuations, which reached $300m. The result is that, though preferred shareholders will see a payout, ordinary shareholders (which include current and former employees) will only receive a goodwill gesture of $100 each.

Huddle (officially Ninian Solutions)’s report and accounts rang some warning bells for us when they were filed in March. Read more here....

Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '09:34' - Tagged: saas   software   privateequity   M&A   collaboration