Billionaire founders’ stakes in Atlassian diverge with share deals

Atlassian’s two billionaire founders’ shareholdings in the company are tipping out of balance as Scott Farquhar begins selling shares worth about $US526 million ($760 million) and Mike Cannon-Brookes starts bulking up his stake by up to $US250 million.

The two men founded Atlassian in Sydney in 2002 and built it into a $US39 billion workplace software company as co-chief executives before Farquhar stepped down in 2024 amid reports of tension with Cannon-Brookes, who became the firm’s sole boss.

For years, the pair had equal shareholdings in Atlassian and sold identical amounts of stock each year to fund their lifestyles and investments – but that has now begun to diverge.

A document uploaded by Atlassian to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States, where the company is now listed, confirms Farquhar plans to sell up to 3.4 million shares by December next year. While the sales will be spread out over the next 13 months, at Atlassian’s current stock price of about $US155, those shares are worth $US526 million.

“The plan is part of Mr Farquhar’s long-term strategy for individual asset diversification and liquidity,” Atlassian’s filing reads.

Cannon-Brookes, by contrast, will buy up to $US250 million ($361 million) worth of stock - or 2.5 million shares - by May 2027 in a move announced in August as the company battled to reassure investors that it could ride out the wave of AI-fuelled disruption washing through the tech industry.

Both founders have paused their regular share sales. In a short statement, Farquhar said he was selling to contribute more money to his family’s charitable institution.

“To support Skip Foundation’s work tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges, starting with climate and the environment, I’m resuming a planned share sale program,” Farquhar said. “My commitment to Atlassian and its mission is unchanged. I remain a board member and significant shareholder, with full confidence in the company’s future.”

Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes both owned about 19 per cent of the software maker earlier this year, but hold shares with greater voting power than those largely owned by the public. Farquhar’s planned sales will make only a marginal difference to the balance of power within the company.

An Atlassian spokeswoman declined to add to the company’s filing. The advent of artificial intelligence has roiled companies like Atlassian because it has resulted in the sackings of large numbers of software engineers that used its tools and created a risk that competitors could use AI to replicate its apps at lower cost.

Atlassian has argued big companies need its software more than ever in the AI age to ensure they have a secure place to store crucial data that integrated AI tools can draw on.

Over the last twelve months, the company’s stock has seesawed, trading as high as $US225 and as low as $US97.

Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes were once so close that they owned neighbouring mansions on Sydney harbour. Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson have since sold their Point Piper estate.

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