New Relic’s sale tells us much about the value of middling growth today

Monitoring work New Relic this greeting said it has agreed to beryllium acquired by Francisco Partners and TPG for $6.5 cardinal successful cash.

Shares of the company, which went nationalist backmost successful 2014, are up astir 13.5% connected the news.

The Exchange explores startups, markets and money.

Read it every greeting connected TechCrunch+ oregon get The Exchange newsletter each Saturday.

The woody is absorbing due to the fact that of its size, but we’re much funny successful the penetration it provides connected the existent authorities of the tech scenery arsenic it pertains to valuations. Given the adust IPO climate, we are bereft of caller information regarding exit values, truthful this woody is similar a fresh, chill breeze connected a sultry summertime afternoon.

New Relic’s $87-per-share merchantability terms gives it a valuation that’s little than 7 times its existent run-rate revenue. The question we person to reply is whether that terms seems parsimonious, tenable oregon indulgent fixed existent marketplace information and our valuation expectations based connected caller backstage and public-market data.

This morning, we’ll commencement with a look astatine New Relic’s latest quarterly results, comparison that accusation to its merchantability price, and past subordinate what we’ve learned backmost to everyone’s favourite firm cohort: richly valued startups that person yet to permission their parents’ basements.

New Relic reported gross of $242.6 cardinal successful the 4th ended June 30 (its fiscal archetypal quarter), up 12% from a twelvemonth earlier. The institution has been shifting from a subscription exemplary to a usage-based (consumption-based) pricing setup, and you tin spot that successful the results: Consumption gross accrued 39% to $213.9 million, portion subscription gross declined by 54% to $28.7 million.