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When founders realize their dream of a multibillion-dollar acquisition, they usually ride off into the sunset and leave their employees to adjust to a new regime. But Mark O\u2019Hare, the founder of Preqin, is bringing his staff along for this ride after cashing in his 21-year bet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hare and his wife Lindy will become billionaires after selling their financial data<\/a> company to BlackRock for \u00a32.55 billion ($3.2 billion).\u00a0<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare, 65, founded Preqin in 2002 to source and sell data on the performance of private equity investments.<\/p>\n Preqin is one of several private data companies that have enjoyed bumper valuations in recent years. The company\u2019s path to an acquisition tracked rivals like PitchBook, which Morningstar acquired for $225 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Preqin was reportedly the subject of bidding from the likes of Bloomberg and S&P.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Preqin acquisition marks O\u2019Hare\u2019s second major company sale after netting a more modest \u00a32.5 million sum from Reuters<\/em> for his financial information platform Citywatch in 1998.<\/p>\n \u201cBlackRock is known for excellence in both investment management and financial technology and together we can accelerate our efforts to deliver better private markets data and analytics to all of our clients at scale,\u201d O\u2019Hare said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to joining BlackRock and continuing to play a role in the continued growth and success of Preqin and our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark and Lindy\u2019s 80% share in Preqin will help them scoop a \u00a32.04 billion ($2.6 billion) payday, putting them among the 100 wealthiest people in the U.K. when the sale goes through.<\/p>\n That will make them richer than Alan Sugar and Harry Potter author JK Rowling, not to mention Larry Fink, the co-founder of the asset manager that\u2019s acquiring them.<\/p>\n The remaining \u00a3510 million is to be shared among Preqin\u2019s management and around 1,500 employees, making several of them fresh millionaires.<\/p>\n The O\u2019Hare couple will have plenty to keep them busy after their golden handshake.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mark O\u2019Hare is a part-time private pilot and survived a plane crash on a seven-seater Piper Seneca in 1999.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lindy, a former interior designer, renovated Thorington Theatre<\/a> in 2019, a 350-seater outdoor venue in woodland beside their home in Suffolk. The couple took a \u00a32.3 million loan in 2019 to renovate their home, the Financial Times <\/em>reported<\/a>, which looks like pocket change now.<\/p>\n Speaking to The Stage <\/em>magazine last year, Lindy said the couple hoped they could one day host the Royal Shakespeare Company\u2019s A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em> at their venue, in addition to a local music superstar.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne day, Ed Sheeran will come. He lives at Framlingham, so he\u2019s only down the road. That\u2019s the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CEO Daily newsletter to get global CEO perspectives on the biggest stories in business. Sign up for free<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n