Christian Klein, Co-CEO of the German software and cloud computing giant SAP, speaks during a press conference to present SAP’s 2019 financial results on January 28, 2020 in Walldorf, southwest Germany. – German software giant SAP reported a financial result hurt by heavy restructuring costs, but raised forecasts for next year.
Daniel Roland | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – SAP CEO Christian Klein said investor demand for shares in enterprise software company Qualtrics is outstripping supply before the company’s debut on the stock market.
SAP acquired Qualtrics in November 2018 for $ 8 billion and, in July 2020, announced that it intended to go public.
“We are looking forward to the IPO, which is, by the way, massively overloaded,” Klein said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Wednesday.
Qualtrics intends to raise up to $ 1.46 billion through the IPO, which may take place soon. In an amended document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the company said it plans to sell 50.4 million shares for $ 27 to $ 29 each. The company had previously filed a sales order for 49.2 million for $ 22 to $ 26 each. The listing could lead Qualtrics to reach a market capitalization of up to $ 14.6 billion. SAP plans to use Qualtrics’ IPO to help pay $ 1.76 billion in debt, according to the document.
“The acquisition is a huge success,” said Klein, who was appointed sole CEO in April, adding that SAP has doubled Qualtrics’ revenue.
He added: “They did so well within the SAP customer base and we are now opening them up. They can also penetrate the market outside our customer base.”
Klein said that SAP will remain the majority shareholder of Qualtrics after it goes public and that the company “will fully benefit from Qualtrics’ success after the IPO”.