Quark, the publishing software company best known for QuarkXPress, has been acquired by Platinum Equity. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Quark CEO, Ray Schiavone, told MacUser: ‘This is something we’ve been working on for many months… It means we can develop the breadth and depth of our product line as well as moving into new geographical areas’
Schiavone added that ‘Practically, there’s not a lot of change immediately. The change is more longer term developing our acquisition strategy. We’re gonna be pretty aggressive. What private equity is good at is buying companies. We’ll also continue to grow organically.’
Whilst he acknowledged that growth in publishing would largely be in digital media, including tablets like the iPad, Schiavone was keen to point out that Quark had done particularly well in print publishing recently. ‘Adobe have taken their eye off the ball in print. We’ve already gone back to some of the traditional publishers that have gone to Adobe and got some win backs,’ he said.
Brian Wall, partner at Platinum who led the team pursuing the acquisition, said in a statement that ‘Quark is committed to its loyal and dedicated user base and we are enthusiastic about the company’s new products which are gaining traction and generating positive reviews. We believe that with their expertise and innovative software, Quark has the potential to revolutionise publishing again.’
Quark customers with questions about the acquisition can email pr@quark.com
