Christian Klein, Co-CEO of German software and cloud computing giant SAP, speaks at a press conference to present SAP’s 2019 financial results on January 28, 2020 in Walldorf, southwest Germany. – The German software giant SAP reported that its net result was undermined by high restructuring costs, but raised expectations for the coming year.
Daniel Roland | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – SAP Chief Executive Christian Klein said investor demand for shares in software company Qualtrics is outstripping supply ahead of the company’s debut in the stock market.
SAP acquired Qualtrics in November 2018 for $ 8 billion and announced in July 2020 that it planned to make the company public.
“We look forward to the IPO, which is hugely oversubscribed,” Klein said on Wednesday in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe.
Qualtrics aims to raise as much as $ 1.46 billion through the initial public offering, which could happen soon. In an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, it said it plans to sell 50.4 million shares for $ 27 to $ 29 each. The company previously filed to sell 49.2 million for $ 22 to $ 26 each. The listing would allow Qualtrics to achieve a market capitalization of up to $ 14.6 billion. SAP plans to use Qualtrics’ IPO to repay $ 1.76 billion in debt, the filing said.
“The acquisition is a huge success,” said Klein, who was named sole CEO last April, adding that SAP has doubled Qualtrics’ sales.
He added, “They’ve done so well within the SAP customer base, and now we’re opening them up. They can now penetrate beyond our customer base.”
Klein said SAP will remain the majority shareholder of Qualtrics after it goes public and that the company will “take full advantage of Qualtrics’ success after the IPO.”