Fintech powerhouse Sungard has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
SunGard was acquired in August 2005 by seven private equity firms and de-listed from the Nyse. However, the post-2008 climate has not been good to the debt-ladened firm, which has appeared increasingly bloated in an economic environment more conducive to smaller, agile competitors selling tactical solutions to belt-tightening baking customers.
The firm undertook a major transformation programme in 2011 which saw the sale of its higher education unit, a split off from the disaster recovery arm and the exiting of non-core and stagnating business lines.
For 2014, the company posted a loss of $224 million on revenue of $2.8 billion, although the re-shaped business has since recorded revenue growth in five of the last six quarters.
SunGard's owners, Bain Capital Partners, The Blackstone Group, Goldman, Sachs, KKR, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital, say they will continue to hold a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares following the IPO, designating the business as a “controlled company”.