The DocuSign website is seen on a laptop in Dobbs Ferry, New York, April 1, 2021.
Tiffany Hagler-Geer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Contract Management Platform Documentation is committed to remaining a public company and is working to convince investors of its artificial intelligence potential, CEO Allan Thygesen told CNBC after reports emerged that the firm was being targeted for a takeover by private equity investors.
“We’re focused on building a great independent public company,” Thygesen told CNBC in an interview earlier this week at a partnership event the company held in London. “I joined DocuSign as a public company, it’s a very exciting time, that’s our plan.”
DocuSign, which offers a popular service that allows users to sign contracts digitally, was rumored to be surrounded by suitors Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, according to reports by Reuters and Bloomberg earlier this year, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters and Bloomberg reported that PE firms were struggling with buy DocuSign for almost $13 billion. According to a February report from Reuters, Bain Capital and Hellman & Freshman paused their acquisition of DocuSign due to disagreements over the amount they should pay to buy the firm.
CNBC could not independently verify these reports.
Thygesen said he “can’t comment on anything that may or may not have happened in the past” when CNBC asked him if he could confirm rumors of previous PE buyer interest in DocuSign.
Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman were unavailable for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Thygesen added that DocuSign has not ruled out the prospect of an M&A (mergers and acquisitions) deal in the future, telling CNBC: “In the future, if something happens – of course, you can never close the door on any deal.”
However, he stressed: “We are very focused on building a great independent company. We feel like we have a huge opportunity, so that’s what we’re doing.”
In February, DocuSign announced business restructuring plans that included a decision to lay off 6% of its global workforce, with most of the cuts affecting sales and marketing functions.
The firm said it expects to lose between $28 million and $32 million due to the restructuring plan, consisting primarily of cash costs for employee transitions, notice periods and severance benefits, as well as non-cash costs related to the vesting of share-based awards. .
At the time, DocuSign said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it was taking these restructuring actions to “realize its long-standing growth aspirations as an independent public company.”
AI will have a ‘profound’ impact
DocuSign is trying to convince investors of the future of AI-powered businesses, with several notable product announcements based on the technology and an acquisition deal this year. Lexion, an artificial intelligence-based contract management product, for $165 million in cash.
In addition, Thygesen carried out a complete rebranding of the company, changing the logo and updating the company’s brand.
He also announced a new DocuSign product called Intelligent Agreement Management, or IAM. IAM is a more automated version of DocuSign’s contract lifecycle management (CLM) process that covers the contract path from pre-signing activities to post-signing management.
“I think we’ve basically convinced investors that the adults are in charge, that they’re ahead of schedule, that we’ve stabilized the situation, and now they want to see how we handle this new material,” Thygesen said.
“So we’re going to go out and do it, and if we do it, we’re going to have a very exciting opportunity for shareholders, customers, employees, everyone,” he added.
Thygesen said he expects AI to have a “very profound” impact “across all industries, functions and sizes.”
“I’m honored to be part of this at a company that I think is particularly well positioned to take advantage of this,” Thygesen said. But he added: “Even if it wasn’t, I would be looking at how it would impact the business, no matter what kind of business I run.”