DocuSign CEO says he wants to remain private after speculation about PE acquisition

Contract management platform docusign Following reports that the company was the subject of acquisition interest from a private equity applicant, CEO Alan Thygesen told CNBC that the company is committed to remaining a public company and that He said he is trying to convince investors of the potential of intelligence.

“We’re focused on building a great independent public company,” Thygesen told CNBC in an interview at the company’s partner event in London earlier this week. “I came to DocuSign as a public company, and that’s our plan, because it’s a very exciting time right now.”

Earlier this year, Reuters and Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that DocuSign, which provides a popular service that lets users sign contracts digitally, is in a deal with suitor Bain Capital. It was rumored that he was surrounded by Hellman & Friedman.

Reuters and Bloomberg both reported that PE funds are vying to buy DocuSign for about $13 billion. In February, Reuters reported that Bain Capital and Hellman & Fleshman had put their acquisition of DocuSign on hold due to disagreements over the company’s purchase price.

CNBC has not been able to independently verify the report.

Asked by CNBC if he could confirm rumors that PE buyers had been interested in DocuSign for some time, Thygesen said, “I don’t know anything that may or may not have happened in the past. I cannot comment on that.”

Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Thygesen added that DocuSign would not rule out the possibility of future M&A transactions, saying, “If something goes wrong in the future, of course we would not close the door on any transaction. I can never do that,” he told CNBC.

But he stressed: “We’re very focused on building great independent companies. We feel there’s a huge opportunity and that’s what we’re doing.”

DocuSign announced a restructuring plan in February that included a decision to furlough 6% of its global workforce, with the majority of the cuts affecting its sales and marketing functions.

The company expects its restructuring plan to result in a total of $28 million to $32 million, primarily consisting of cash outlays for employee transfers, notice periods and severance payments, as well as non-cash outlays related to stock award vesting. He said he expected the country to be hit hard. .

At the time, DocuSign said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that these restructuring actions were “to realize our aspirations for multi-year growth as an independent, publicly traded company.”

DocuSign has made several notable announcements about AI-powered products this year, as well as announcing a deal to acquire Lexion, an AI-based contract management product, for $165 million and expanding its AI-driven business. They have been trying to convince investors of the future. In cash.

In addition, Thygesen underwent a company-wide rebrand, changing the logo and refreshing the company’s brand.

He also announced a new DocuSign product focus called “Intelligent Contract Management” (IAM). IAM is a more automated version of DocuSign’s Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) process, covering the journey of a contract from pre-signing activities to post-signing management.

“We told our investors that we had adults in charge, that they were ahead of the curve, that we had stabilized things, and now we’re going to see what we do with this new thing. I think I convinced them that I wanted to do it,” Thygesen said.

“So we’re going to do that. If we do that, it’s going to be a very exciting opportunity for our shareholders, our customers, our employees and everyone.”

Thygesen said he expects AI to have a huge impact “across industries, functions and scales.”

“I’m honored to be a part of a company that seems particularly well-positioned to take advantage of that,” Thygesen said. But, he added, “even if I wasn’t, no matter what kind of business I run, I’d still be looking for how this impacts my business.”