Time to split
26 replies (most recent on top)
"They’ll do it if and when the time is right."
Best guess is after the passing of the majority founder.
@10g Agreed. And SAS has always phrased it as IPO readiness versus doing an IPO. They’ll do it if and when the time is right.
"Performative theater" would be out of character for the SAS CEO. He wouldn't spend the money on it.
It's sufficient explanation that SAS always moves slowly. How long did Viya take, ten years? An IPO taking six would be no surprise.
That doesn't mean it will happen. It just means SAS wants the option to IPO, and is in no hurry to get it.
@xm this whole forum is performance theatre,
SAS can do whatever they want with their pot at whatever pace is appropriate for them.
What you think of when they would/should have done it is meaningless.
Performative theater. If they were going to do it they would have done it by now. Sh-t or get off the pot.
"Almost as if every one of the people who said that SAS will never IPO while the founder is still alive were right all along."
In 2025, ownership:
- installed a new accounting system
- hired a new CFO with a bit of IPO experience, and
- sent the Executive Team on a tour of NYSE and NASDAQ.
These are all preparations for an IPO -- though clearly not urgent preparations. A CEO trying to maximize his wealth would have IPO'd twenty years ago.
SAS must maintain profitability. That requires continued headcount reductions of several hundred employees each year.
But a CEO trying to maximize his wealth would do a mass layoff. This one won't, and he's not eager to sell to anyone who will.
It's an unusual situation, in which ownership is not primarily motivated by profit. This benevolent capitalism is preserving the jobs of many SAS employees.
@ft I do hope so. That was basically an “in case this offends anyone” thing. Because in social media, it’s almost always true that someone is offended.
@f3 No apologies or sympathy needed. We are fine
"Almost as if every one of the people who said that SAS will never IPO while the founder is still alive were right all along."
IPO readiness and founder readiness are two totally different entities.
What’s bananas is that postings, many containing important discussion of company issues causing attrition and layoffs, are being disappeared.
Instead of trying to cover them up, maybe these postings should be mined for golden nuggets of wisdom and feedback but otherwise left alone for discussion and debate.
2027? Really? The three-year schedule announced in 2021 has doubled?
Of course, and no one has been fired for failing to deliver the 3 4 5 6-year "IPO readiness" promised either. Almost as if every one of the people who said that SAS will never IPO while the founder is still alive were right all along.
So the IPO readiness is pushed back to 2027? As a retiree I find this absurd to the point of hilarity. Apologies and sympathies to those who are still at SAS, but to all appearances this isn’t a serious IPO effort.
@bm 2027? Really? The three-year schedule announced in 2021 has doubled?
Multi-national corporations may require three or four years to become "IPO-ready". They do not require six.
This is like those SAS software products that took five, six, eight years to go production. By the time they finally shipped, the market no longer cared.
Fake
@bs bf is right. Audience attended one segment. Voiceovers from all the other segments were played over the shots of the audience
I was an audience member. I was there for some portions but not every section based on my availability. They were filmed at different times. It was nice to see some of the behind-the-scenes of what goes into the making of kickoff. I enjoyed the experience and it was nice to see a different side of some of our executives.
@bf then what you heard is wrong
Sounded like ‘27 would be the earliest for IPO
@bf Yes there were several IPO mentions
I heard the audience was not tapped with the webcast. Both were separate. So its very likely they were promoted to nod, applaud, smile. Definitely real sas-ers though.
I just skimmed it, it was too long. Any mention of the IPO?
@b6 cool-aid was ok. Better than last years.
I did know some of those people and it had a really strange feel when they showed the audiences. Like they were holding up cue cards on when to smile, nod or react.
@b7 Hey young clueless guy. One of the several old Company Man guys.
It wasn’t negative. People on this forum will make it negative no matter what.
And no I’m not sharing the positives or the negatives here….
young clueless guy here who doesn’t understand the business side very well - can someone clarify what was so bad about the kickoff? nothing stood out to me as obviously negative.
@a6 kinda looked like AI generated, does anyone know any of those people? Company man, were you there? How was the cool aide?
The audience members nodding and smiling is giving severance vibes yikes
Make like a banana and split!