Atlassian—the team collaboration software company cofounded by Australian billionaire activist investor Mike Cannon-Brookes—said it has agreed to buy video messaging platform Loom for $1.5 billion (US$975 million), betting more work will be done remotely in the future.
Under the deal, the company said it will pay cash of $880 million, using its existing cash balances, while the remainder of the purchase price will be satisfied with Atlassian shares. The deal is expected to be completed in the quarter ending March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.
Founded in 2016, Loom enables its more than 200,000 corporate users to record and share videos securely. The startup, which was valued at $1.5 billion in its latest funding round, grew rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic as companies enabled workers stuck at home to work remotely as governments enforced lockdowns to curb the virus from spreading.
Post pandemic, the global shift towards distributed work has fueled a need for new ways to help teams in various locations worldwide to collaborate. Loom’s business users record almost 5 million videos per month, using asynchronous video technology.
“Async video and AI will drive the next evolution of team collaboration,” Cannon-Brookes, 43, co-CEO of Atlassian, said in a recorded video. “The combined strength of Loom and Atlassian can deliver some amazon products in these areas. At Atlassian, we have deep expertise at how things work and adding Loom to the mix can truly elevate the collaboration experience of our over 260,000 customers around the world.”
Cannon-Brookes and co-CEO Scott Farquhar started Atlassian over two decades ago soon after graduating from college, funding it with credit cards. The company has since grown to become one of Australia’s tech giants with a current market capitalization of $48 billion. Its revenue increased 25% to $3.5 billion in the year ended June.
With a net worth of about $12 billion, Cannon-Brookes has been stepping up investments in renewable energy and is a key backer of Sun Cable, billed as one of the world’s largest solar projects. Through his Grok Ventures, Cannon-Brookes also holds a stake in Australian utility AGL Energy.
