Contract management platform DocuSign is committed to remaining a publicly traded company and is working to persuade investors of the potential of artificial intelligence, CEO Allan Thygesen told CNBC, after reports suggested the corporate was the goal of takeover interest from private equity suitors.
“We're focused on building a great, independent public company,” Thygesen told CNBC in an interview earlier this week at the corporate's partner event in London. “I joined DocuSign as a publicly traded company. It’s a very exciting time right now, so that’s our plan.”
DocuSign, the provider of a well-liked service that lets users digitally sign contracts, was rumored to have been wooed by suitors Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, Reuters and Bloomberg reported earlier this 12 months, citing people acquainted with the matter.
Reuters and Bloomberg each reported that the PE firms were dueling Buy DocuSign for nearly $13 billion. A Reuters report in February said Bain Capital and Hellman & Freshman paused their efforts to amass DocuSign because they disagreed on how much they need to pay to purchase the corporate.
CNBC couldn’t independently confirm the reports.
Asked by CNBC if he could confirm rumors of past interest in DocuSign from PE buyers, Thygesen said he “cannot comment on anything that may or may not have happened in the past.”
Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman were unavailable for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Thygesen added that DocuSign wouldn't rule out the prospect of a merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction in the long run, telling CNBC: “If something comes up in the future, of course you can never close the door on a transaction.”
However, he stressed: “We are very focused on building a great independent company. We think we have a great opportunity, so we’re doing this.”
In February, DocuSign announced plans to restructure the corporate that included shedding 6% of its global workforce. The bulk of the layoffs should affect the sales and marketing functions.
The company said it expects a lack of $28 million to $32 million in consequence of the restructuring plan. This primarily consists of money expenses for worker transfers, notice periods and severance payments in addition to non-cash expenses in reference to the transfer of share-based compensation.
At the time, DocuSign said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it was taking these restructuring actions to “achieve its multi-year growth objectives as an independent public company.”
AI could have “profound” impacts
DocuSign has tried to persuade investors of an AI-driven future for the corporate, with several notable announcements this 12 months of products based on the technology, in addition to a deal to purchase Lexion, an AI-based contract management product, for $165 million in money.
In addition, Thygesen completely rebranded the corporate, changing the brand and refreshing the company brand.
He also announced a brand new product focus from DocuSign called Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM). IAM is a more automated version of DocuSign's Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) process, which covers the journey of a contract from pre-signature activities to post-signature management.
“I think we've largely convinced investors that adults are in charge, that they're ahead of schedule, that we've stabilized things, and now they want to see how we handle these new things,” Thygesen said.
“So we're going to do that, and when we do that, we have a very exciting opportunity for shareholders, customers, employees and everyone,” he added.
Thygesen said he expects AI to have a “very profound” impact “across all industries, all functions and all sizes.”
“I feel privileged to be part of this, at a company that I think is particularly well positioned to benefit from this,” said Thygesen. But he added: “Even if I wasn't, I would be looking for the impact that this will have on the business, whatever business I run.”
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