Why is Bentley Systems still privately held? After all, in 2001 they filled out the paper work and started the process to file an Initial Public Offering. When Bentley backed off a few weeks later, Greg Bentley said it was "hostile" market conditions. His comments made it sound like the setback was temporary. But it became clear the move away from going public was long-term when Bentley signed a deal in 2003 with a division of Wells Fargo Bank to create a source of capital for product and company acquisition. Greg Bentley explained the move by saying private markets were now a cheaper source of equity than the public markets.
Some new insight into the "why" is now available in an article at Tech Central Station by Financial Times columnist Amity Shlaes:
Back in the 1980s a physics graduate named Cris met a "quant" guy named Greg and the two founded a company to write options trading software called Devon Systems. Both their "quant" work -- applying complex formulae to value financial instruments -- and their gut instincts convinced them that the fastest way for start-ups to grow was to go public or be acquired by a publicly-traded company. They chose the latter and allowed Devon Systems to be acquired.
Fast forward a decade and a half and Cris and Greg are both executives working in Wayne and Exton, PA, respectively. Now, however, the gents have switched philosophies, believing that private ownership is better than public ownership. What is more, they are betting billions on that proposition.
Follow this link to read the entire article at Tech Central Station.