Tech launch lands locals on rich list
Two local tech gurus have shot up Australia’s rich list after the public offering of software company Atlassian.
Atlassian was launched on Nasdaq this week which made former university classmates Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farqua instant billionaires.
The company’s valuation reached $8 billion ($US5.85 billion) as shares soared by 32 per cent in opening trade.
The hotly-watched stock with the code name “TEAM” debuted at $US27.67, up from the $US21 that investors paid in the initial public offering.
It peaked at $US28.50 before settling to trade around the $US27 mark throughout the session, closing on $US27.78.
Atlassian’s Nasdaq listing is the biggest ever float from an Australian company on US markets, and values the company at $6.01 billion ($US4.38 billion).
The closing share price left the company’s market value at nearly $8 billion.
The Sydney-based software firm is responsible for workplace collaboration tools including Jira and Confluence, counting Facebook, NASA and Toyota among its 51,000 customers.
Atlassian is also behind HipChat - a private group chat and instant messaging service tht is growing in popularity in the business community.
Atlassian says it has over 860 customers that spent $50,000 or more in 2015, including Visa and electric car maker Tesla.
The company plans to use the new capital for ‘general corporate purposes’, but it is looking at potential acquisitions.