When Sifted final checked in with HR tech unicorn Personio in June final yr, its founder Hanno Renner stated he needed to take the $8.5bn firm public at some point.
And whereas that day is probably going very far off given the rout in world fairness markets, the corporate is now one step nearer to reaching that objective.
Personio is at the moment finalising a change in its authorized kind, from a GmbH (a German restricted legal responsibility firm) to a Societas Europaea (SE) — a European public restricted firm, which permits firms to hold out enterprise actions extra simply throughout EU member states. Market watchers say changing into an SE lays the muse for an IPO; a few of Germany’s largest tech firms like Supply Hero and Celonis are SEs. N26, one other potential tech IPO out of Europe, can also be planning to change to an SE.
“2024 would be the earliest doable date we will at the moment foresee” for an IPO, Renner tells Sifted, including that he can’t be extra particular on timing as it would largely depend upon market circumstances and “different inside concerns”.
“We selected the SE because it displays our nature as a European firm”
“We selected the SE because it displays our nature as a European firm; our greater than 8,000 prospects are based mostly in Europe. Now the authorized kind matches our enterprise,” provides Renner.
Personio was cofounded by Renner in 2015 and is one in every of Europe’s most beneficial tech firms. Along with its headquarters in Munich, the corporate has places of work in London, Madrid, Dublin, Amsterdam, Barcelona and, extra not too long ago, Berlin.
To IPO in Germany… or not?
The HR tech unicorn hasn’t but chosen a location for its IPO, however Renner says Germany “would positively be an possibility” — if adjustments are made by the federal government to make itemizing within the nation simpler and extra enticing.
For instance, totally different voting rights lessons and “modified laws on profitability” for members of DAX (an index of firms listed on the Frankfurt Inventory Trade) would must be in place for Personio to think about itemizing in Germany, says Renner.
That will make Personio one of many uncommon tech firms — and corporations generally — to checklist in Germany, the place the IPO market is smaller than in different nations. 2018 was thought of one of the profitable years for IPOs in Germany but; 18 firms went public, compared to 210 within the US.
2022 was a very weak yr for IPOs in Germany, with simply 4 firms itemizing on the Frankfurt Inventory Trade, in line with knowledge from auditing and consulting agency PwC. Personio will seemingly have to attend one other few years for higher circumstances to return earlier than itemizing.
An IPO could be a liquidity occasion for Personio’s 4 founders and its staff, permitting them to money out on a few of their stake within the enterprise. Presently, Personio’s cofounders personal 15% of the enterprise, and staff personal 15% by way of a digital worker inventory possibility plan (VESOP), Personio’s communication crew confirmed to Sifted in December.
Miriam Partington is Sifted’s DACH correspondent. She additionally covers future of labor, coauthors Sifted’s Startup Life publication and tweets from @mparts_
