It is the second time Citrix has considered a sale in four years Citrix Systems is said to be working with advisers to consider whether to sell itself after a difficult 2021, according to a report by Bloomberg. Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication said the massive software vendor plans to explore the interest of potential buyers over the next few weeks. A final decision on whether to pursue a sale is yet to be made, and the firm may also choose to remain a standalone entity.
Bloomberg didn’t share the details of the advisers Citrix is working with on the potential sale. The discussions follow activist investor Elliott Investment Management buying a 10 percent stake in the company. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Elliott Management holds a $1bn stake in Citrix Systems and wants the company to take concrete steps to improve its lagging stock price.
Elliott first disclosed a stake in Citrix in 2015, arguing then that the firm was suffering from poor management. It added that Citrix needed to streamline its business after an erroneous buying spree. Citrix then appointed the investment firm’s senior portfolio manager and head of US equity activism, Jesse Cohn, to the board, where he remained until 2020. Despite other cloud-computing firms benefiting from a pandemic boost, Citrix has had a rough year. Its share value has tumbled 15.8 percent this year, putting its market capitalization at around $13.6 billion.
The company has seen the largest drop in its shares since 2008, after disappointing second-quarter results in July. Having missed Q2 revenue estimates, banks like Barclays lowered Citrix’s rating. CEO David Henshall said at the time that the firm was making progress on a three-point company transformation strategy.
The company previously tried to sell itself in 2017. It hired Goldman Sachs to investigate potential buyers and to negotiate a possible sale. Although some private equity firms, including Thoma Bravo and Bain Capital, showed interest in buying Citrix, discussions eventually stalled overvaluation.
