Collaboration software provider Atlassian agreed yesterday to acquire Trello, a US-based collaborative tool developer incubated by project management software producer Fog Creek Software, for $425m in cash and stock.
Launched in 2011, Trello has built an intuitive, visual, cloud-based tool that enables users to manage and collaborate on projects online. It has more than 19 million registered users and will be added to Atlassian’s project tracking, content and communication offerings.
Trello’s only venture funding since its formation came when it was spun out by Fog Creek in 2014 with a $10.3m series A round co-led by venture capital firms Index Ventures and Spark Capital and backed by BoxGroup.
The purchase price consists of $360m in cash and $65m in Atlassian shares and options. The deal will provide its investors with a 10 times return, sources told Fortune, and only 22% of Trello’s shares have been issued to VC backers.
Michael Pryor, Trello’s chief executive, said in a blog post: “As part of Atlassian, Trello will be able to leverage investments in R&D that will enhance the product in meaningful ways.
“Our team will be able to focus on improving the core experience of Trello for all users. We are certain that Atlassian understands the unique and novel reasons why Trello is so successful and well-loved.”
Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian, added: “Trello has built an incredibly sticky and useful product for organising nearly any type of information simply and quickly.
“The addition of Trello will be a great complement to our existing portfolio of team collaboration software as we look to reach the 1 billion knowledge workers globally.”