Drobo, Subsidiary of Connected Data, Acquired by Unknown Investment Group

Drobo, Inc., maker of storage arrays for businesses and professionals, announced that an investment group comprised of seasoned technology executives has acquired the company.

Terms of the deal and additional investors were not announced.  

Drobo, which had been operated as an independent subsidiary of Connected Data, Inc., will become a stand-alone entity continuing to offer the line of Drobo storage arrays that provide a combination of data protection, expandability and ease of use to business users.
 
“Drobo is at an exceptional point in its growth and execution strategy,” said Mihir H. Shah, who will serve as Drobo’s new CEO. “Its simple-to-use technology, market adoption and brand recognition make Drobo a very compelling investment opportunity. I anticipate continued rapid growth for Drobo as we engage our escalated execution and expansion strategy for 2015 and beyond.”
 
Drobo merged with Connected Data in 2013, after which the company has been restructured and now operates from a position of profitability. Since 2013, It has achieved numerous milestones including a complete overhaul of the original Drobo product line and performance improvements especially the B1200i hybrid storage array.
 
“Drobo offers innovative technology that is ideally suited for the demanding, high capacity needs of today’s business users,” said Geoff Barrall, founder and CEO, Connected Data, and original founder of Drobo. “We are pleased to have ushered Drobo’s growth for the past two years while also charting the success of Connected Data’s Transporter line of private cloud appliances. With separate target customers and markets, it made sense to separate the companies, so that each can benefit from a more dedicated management team and focused strategic execution for the next phase of growth.”
 
The Drobo acquisition is effective immediately and will be a seamless transition for customers, partners and employees. Barrall will remain on Drobo’s board of directors as Drobo and Connected Data each continue to enhance the Drobo and Transporter product lines with innovation.   
 
New CEO Mihir H. Shah is an experienced technology executive and investor. He was named CEO of Bluefin in August of 2014, and, before that, was a member of the leadership team at Brocade, where he served as MD and VP of corporate development and strategy. Prior to Brocade, he held senior level roles in corporate development, finance and sales at IBM. Shah also has a background in investment banking and private equity.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Southern California, an executive MBA from University of California, Irvine. He has also completed a postgraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

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