Permira-Backed TeamViewer CEO Favors Possible German Tech IPO
(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officer of fast-growing software company TeamViewer GmbH would back a share sale if its owner Permira Holdings LLP pursued one, in what would be the biggest German tech IPO in at least five years.
Based in Goeppingen in southern Germany, TeamViewer would be ready for a possible listing at the end of this year or next year if the involved parties decided the timing was right, CEO Oliver Steil said in an interview.
“We clearly believe an IPO is a very good option for the business,” Steil, a former Permira executive, said by phone. “But in the end, it's a shareholder decision.”
Permira could sell between 30% and 40% of the company, and is seeking a valuation of 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to 5 billion euros, according to a person familiar with the matter. Steil and Permira declined to comment on the valuation.
Permira bought TeamViewer -- which develops software for collaboration and remote desktop access -- for 870 million euros in 2014. It's since partnered with firms including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Salesforce.com Inc. to bolster its cloud offerings, and introduced new products to better serve companies trying to digitize their factories and business processes.
The strategy seems to be paying off. TeamViewer's cash billings grew more than 35% in the first half, faster than last year's 25% growth, to over 140 million euros, the CEO said. The company posted a cash operating profit margin of more than 50% during the period. It says its software has been installed on more than 2 billion devices.
The German company may hire more people in the U.S. and opened offices in China, Japan, India and Singapore last year to expand sales in those markets. In China alone, TeamViewer has “tens of millions” of free users, more of whom the company wants to convert into paying customers, Steil said.
--With assistance from Sarah Syed and Amy Thomson.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Nate Lanxon
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
