Glorious Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Francisco Partners

Glorious Founder to Remain Substantial Shareholder

Accomplished Industry Veteran Pat Wachendorf Joins Glorious as CEO

DALLAS & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Glorious, a lifestyle PC gaming hardware brand specializing in high-performance PC gaming peripherals, today announced a strategic growth investment from Francisco Partners (“FP”), a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses. As part of today’s announcement, Glorious is also announcing the appointment of Pat Wachendorf as CEO, succeeding Glorious’ founder, Shazim Mohammad. Mr. Mohammad will remain a significant equity holder in the Company following the transaction.

Founded in 2014, Glorious produces some of the most popular peripherals among PC gaming enthusiasts worldwide, including mice, custom mechanical keyboards, mouse pads, and other accessories. Despite taking no outside investment since inception, the Company has penetrated the global gaming hardware industry and won over a rapidly growing community of customers through an innovative, premium-quality product offering, disruptive pricing model and a transparent, brand-centric marketing approach.

The new investment from Francisco Partners will enable Glorious to continue building world class gaming peripherals, penetrate adjacent product categories and expand into new geographies.

Mr. Wachendorf is an accomplished industry veteran with deep domain expertise, most recently serving as the COO of SteelSeries, a worldwide brand and innovation leader in gaming and esports peripherals. Glorious’ Founder, Shazim Mohammad, will continue to be deeply involved with the Company, taking on the role of Chief Visionary, and will lead product design and development to guide the Company’s long-term vision for product innovation.

“We are thrilled to announce this new investment from Francisco Partners, which will allow us to accelerate innovation and increase the breadth of our product offering,” said Shazim Mohammad. “Glorious was founded to democratize access to high quality gaming products, and this new investment will enable Glorious to better serve the gaming community at large. I am excited to partner with Pat, as well as the FP team, to drive Glorious in its next stage of growth.”

Pat Wachendorf added: “The team at Glorious has built an extraordinary company under Shazim’s visionary leadership. It is a privilege to join this talented group and help drive forward Glorious’ mission to bring market leading products to the gaming and enthusiast community.”

“We are excited to partner with Pat and Shazim on the next phase of Glorious’ growth journey,” said Alan Ni, Partner at Francisco Partners and Kevin Wei, Principal at Francisco Partners. “Shazim has done an exceptional job building Glorious’ brand and has shown an impressive dedication to understanding the needs of its enthusiast customers. We are thrilled to welcome Pat onboard at Glorious, and partner with the entire team to build and scale Glorious going into the future.”

The transaction closed in October 2022. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

Wedbush Securities served as financial advisor and Brown Rudnick served as legal advisor to Glorious. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Francisco Partners.

About Glorious

Founded in 2014, Glorious is a lifestyle gaming hardware company, specializing in high-performance PC gaming peripherals. The company considers its mission to offer the highest quality and top performing gaming gear at prices that are accessible to PC gamers worldwide. The company’s growth accelerated rapidly beginning in 2019 with its widely popular Model O gaming mouse, which features an innovative, ultra-lightweight design. The success was repeated with a range of other products, including the “GMMK PRO” mechanical keyboard, which gained acclaim by making hobbyist-grade custom mechanical keyboards accessible to the general market. The company continues to focus on delivering a simplified product lineup while integrating enthusiast requested features that better maximize overall gaming performance. For more information about Glorious, visit www.gloriousgaming.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 400 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With approximately $45 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.