Several recent press releases from ERP vendor IFS (XSTO: IFS) and private investment firm EQT highlight the recent announcement of the delisting of IFS from the Stockholm stock exchange.
This is not something new in the market. It was once popular for ERP companies to go public to capture investment capital to fund their businesses but going public has many downsides and more and more ERP publishers are choosing instead to find the right private equity partner.
The EQT press release has more details on the IFS ownership transfer. Source: EQT VII increases its shareholding to above 90 percent in IFS and prepares for compulsory squeeze-out – EQT.
A press release is also available on the IFS website and an article in Enterprise Times has much more information.
Nasdaq has approved IFS’ application for delisting. The last day of trading for IFS will be Friday, October 7, 2016. The company went public twenty years ago in 1996.
IFS (Industrial and Financial Systems) is a Tier One ERP vendor competing head to head with SAP and Oracle. IFS also competes in the SME space for slightly smaller companies. Founded in 1983, IFS is a truly global ERP company with 2,700 direct employees and claims more than 1 million users (user licenses, not accounts sold).
What does this mean for IFS? In our opinion – not much. IFS has always had a very strong ERP system and they will continue to operate as business as usual and should continue to be a popular option for larger businesses – especially for global manufacturers.
