Bentley Systems has revised the targeted price range for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), which could value the company at about US$5.49 billion (c. £4.28 billion or €4.68 billion).
US-based architecture, engineering and construction software and services provider Bentley announced in August 2020 (Bentley raises IPO prospect again) that it had filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its Class B common stock. Last week (15 September 2020), the company gave more details of the offering.
Bentley announced it would comprise 10,750,000 shares of its Class B common stock – all being sold by existing stockholders of Bentley. The selling stockholders expect to grant the IPO underwriters (who include Goldman Sachs & Co, BofA Securities and RBC Capital Markets) a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,610,991 shares of Class B common stock from the selling stockholders. The estimated IPO price was given as between US$17.00 and US$19.00 per share. Bentley had applied to list its shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BSY”.
Today, however, the estimated IPO price was revised upwards, with the shares now targeted at a range of US$19 to $21 per share (Reuters); Bentley subsequently announced shares would be offered at US$22). At the US$21 level, the IPO could therefore raise up to US$225.7 million, potentially valuing Bentley Systems at about US$5.49 billion (£4.28 billion or €4.68 billion). [Post updated to include Bentley pricing announcement.]
(By comparison, Autodesk and Trimble – both also NASDAQ listed – currently have a market capitalisation of around US£50 billion and US$11 billion respectively.)
Update (30 September 2020) – After strong interest in Bentley Systems shares, the IPO closed at US$22 a share on the first day (see ENR‘s report), generating US$236.5 million in IPO proceeds. Neither the company nor its directors sold shares in the IPO. The five Bentley brothers own about two-thirds of the economic interest and vote about 85% of the shares (co-founders Keith and Barry, plus Raymond and Greg, are directors; a fifth, brother, Richard, retains a 5.3% stake after selling 848,996 shares of Class B stock in the IPO). Ruling out plans to retire, CEO Greg Bentley, right, said: “We chose the ticker symbol BSY to connote ‘staying busy,’ doing what we’re doing.”
[Image: One Liberty Plaza, NYC (NASDAQ HQ) by Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons.]
