Thread regarding Citrix Systems Inc. layoffs

Not clear that the Citrix ELT was duped into buying Wrike at an inflated price so that they would then be prey to Vista. Anything is possible but that seems way out there.

Wrike was a desperate attempt to perfume the pig. When they couldn’t figure out how to bring growth into XD or NS, they said heck, let’s burn our cash to find our way out, without much thought as to how this would all fit.

So before more theories emerge, go for Occam’s razor and just rack it up to an ELT who had no clue.

And those of you still holding the stock, just count your fortunes that the deal closed at peak! You’re the ones that will be laughing to the bank!

The suggestion of fraud on this thread should be seriously considered. As the poster indicates, “It’s only fraud if you can prove it.” While true, the facts seem to support the broader implication of a deal structured from the inside. And if you pick at that scab just a little bit — all kinds of nasty stuff starts pouring out. It is, shall we say, incestuous at best? Henshall may have made the Wrike selection, but a board comprised of Elliott puppets (Calderoni, etc.) approved it. Why? It was obviously the wrong fit, and a horrible call — but they magically scored 2B on it? 2 billion dollars for project management software that has a minority market share (Asana). And then, about a year later, they get the same asset back in a deal that would have cost them the same amount of money if Citrix would have never purchased Wrike. I submit… did Wrike change/boost the Citrix market cap? It did not. All this might suggest I’m posting in a tin foil hat, however, I’m simply pointing out things that others seem to have noticed, and a larger gut level feeling that nefarious activity is afoot.

All that said, the coup de grace here would be for Broadcom to buy the stripped down Citrix BU. That would put a bow on the whole stinking mess.

So, to recap, the 'New' plan of action was to combine two legacy outmoded software brands together (bolt-on Wrike, somehow), end-of-life all the failed prior growth initiatives, retreat back to supporting the remaining on-prem installed base and the few cloud users, then cut as many of the remaining employees as possible to lower costs, then increase contract renew prices over time, and monitor the customer's reaction. This was their strategy?

It sounds like stand-up comedy sketch material. Laughable, and yet sad.

"And who was put in place- Joe Kim- of infamous Solarwinds fame, with junior league leadership under him.

Next came Wrike. Buy something for $2B, that Vista had already optimized after buying it for $700M (paying ~3X for 2 years worth of Vista work). And what rationale? Again, none."

Joe Kim is on at least one other Vista board.

What rationale? Why torpedo a company's value so that you can make a giant profit taking it private when you can torpedo a company's value by having them buy your garbage at a premium before taking it private at a giant profit.

It's only fraud if you can prove it. But it certainly smells funny.

People, you are looking at this with teary eyes. The reality is that Citrix management has struggled since about 2015 to tell and deliver a growth story. They made big moves and company repositioning without checking market viability (see Workspace, Sapho-what a waste, and the latest folly Wrike). Who really wanted these microapps? Whose kool aid did the ELT drink to move the whole company in that direction without an iota of evidence? Why pay $200M for a Sapho?

Here's a piee from the Citrix FAQ from back then:
https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/news/citrix-sapho-faq.pdf

Citrix is the leader in secure, unified workspaces that give businesses and users access to all of their applications and data in one place. Citrix is acquiring Sapho’s leading micro-app platform to enhance the guided work capabilities within Citrix® Workspace, enabling people to work with even greater speed, intelligence and simplicity.

First, Citrix was no where near a leader and certainly not "the" leader in a unified Workspace. That has been Microsoft for a long-long-long time and many have attempted to dethrone the king and have died along the way. With that delusion came the rest of the moves.

Second, the core of Sapho was a series of projects done for a few large customers. There was no real product, no repeating revenue. So Citrix paid $200M for basically what could have been built for $5-10M. On top of that Citrix in its wisdom decided to move it to cloud and make microapps to check your PTO and made that sound like a big deal! Who checks their PTO every day and is that the most pressing enterprise productivity issue? Ge-z.

And once the ELT realized that their move was a dud, two heads rolled off JVR and PJ. And who was put in place- Joe Kim- of infamous Solarwinds fame, with junior league leadership under him.

Next came Wrike. Buy something for $2B, that Vista had already optimized after buying it for $700M (paying ~3X for 2 years worth of Vista work). And what rationale? Again, none. A complete non- sequitur. The ELT making its largest acquisition without a plan!

Why would anyone expect the company to survive two back-to-back amateur moves?

Vista, Elliot, and the rest of PE are necessary evils of the business world. They do the dirty work for shareholders who don't have a good way to telling management to get their act together. And they make fistfuls of money along the way.

So the question you should be asking is: Who opened the doors for Elliott in round one (2015) Elliott and Vista in round 2 (2020) to come in? The answer is blatantly obvious, without even requiring hindsight. Its Citrix leadership, starting with the ELT.

Finally, the same ELT is now flushed out. But not much is left to keep the place whole. Hence the reason for the two "divisions" that will be separately milked, carved and sold, along with the already separated Wrike.

Imagine telling your kids the truth? "I fire people for a living." What would they think?

P.S. TIBCO has been doing pretty well. They didn't need a Krause to come in and make things "efficient." But he makes money off the misery of others. That is what gives him joy. I believe it's called blood money.

It's not so much that they're incapable of seeing it. It's that they don't care. Software is just another piece of the Vista portfolio. All they want is to make money. For all we know, Vista has decided to get out of the software business, and have charged Krause with cutting expenses to the bone and getting the pieces ready to be sold. There are no "visionaries" in this process. Firing a thousand or two thousand people literally doesn't enter their minds as a concern. Meanwhile Krause goes home and his children think that he's such a successful businessman, vs. the MONSTER that he actually is.