On 12 July 2017, Quark Software based in Denver in the United States announced its acquisition by Parallax Capital Partners, LLC (Parallax), a Southern California based software-focused private equity firm. The new owners intend to help Quark accelerate the adoption of its transformational content automation solutions through investment in organic growth and acquisitions.
(Editors note: Quark was for many years the defacto page-ma king software for newspapers and magazines in India. Under owner Fred Ebrahami, who bought the company from founder Tim Gill in 2000, it also made considerable investments near Chandigarh in software development. The Ebrahmi family subsequently sold Quark to Platinum Equity in 2005.)
Recently selected as a Gartner Cool Vendor in Content Services and a 2017 SIIA CODiE Award finalist for Best Multi-Channel Publishing Platform, Quark has quickly emerged as a global leader in content automation. Quark’s content automation solutions enable organizations to deliver business-critical content to any format and any channel—mobile, print, web, and more. At the same time, Quark claims it has reinvigorated its QuarkXPress software business, consistently putting customers first and out-innovating its competitors.
“Quark is having a transformational impact within a wide range of industries, completely redefining how organizations create, manage, publish and deliver business-critical content,” said James Hale, managing partner at Parallax. “This is a company with outstanding talent and leadership, innovative technology and acclaimed customer base. Parallax is looking forward to bringing its experience and expertise to help Quark take its enterprise content automation business to the next level.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of our employees and customers in reaching this milestone,” said Quark president and chief executive officer Ray Schiavone. “Quark has achieved what so many established brands fail to, which is to reinvent our company in the face of insurmountable odds. Through content automation, today Quark enables some of the world’s largest organizations to transform customer experience, reduce time-to-market, improve compliance, and reduce costs. In Parallax we believe we have a partner that shares this vision for organizations to realize the true value of their content.”
Piper Jaffray, a leading investment bank and asset management firm, served as the exclusive financial advisor to Quark in this transaction.
About Parallax Capital Partners
Parallax Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm focused on acquiring and operating application software and related services companies. Since 1999, Parallax has acquired over 20 companies and has built an exceptional track record of transitioning divisions, subsidiaries and product lines into successful stand-alone entities.
