Avaya partners look to IPO boost
VARs hope for increased spending power as vendor brings four years of private ownership to an end
Partners have reacted positively to the news that Avaya is planning go public once again, claiming that the move could give the vendor additional financial might and facilitate hastened growth.
Earlier this month, the New Jersey-based vendor revealed that it plans to make an initial public offering (IPO) of $1bn (£610m) of common stock. Onlookers have suggested that this could amount to about a fifth of the company.
"Avaya expects to use the net proceeds it receives from the offering to, among other things, pay down certain long-term indebtedness," explained a statement issued by the company.
Tony Parish, managing director of Gold partner G3 Telecommunications, was upbeat about the news.
"I think it is a positive thing: it shows where the company is going and solidifies its position," he said.
Parish also accepted that having to answer to Wall Street could place new restraints on Avaya's ability to innovate.
"That is something that we have to put as a risk, against [the benefit of] having more capital and more availability of cash to do more interesting things and to grow the company," he explained.
"At the end of the day, if they grow the business and the market share, that is good for me."
Simon Welch, product marketing director at Avaya distributor TDAzlan, also welcomed the news
"It cannot be a bad thing if it brings in more finance to help Avaya make its technology more robust and strong," he explained.
He asserted that going public would not harm Avaya's innovation engine.
"If anything, it will be the opposite, as there will be extra funding flying around. I think that the constraints of operating under venture capital requirements are similar, if not worse [than being publicly owned]," added Welch.
"Realistically, most of the planning for any large multi-national vendor is relatively short term in terms of how it affects the channel. Financial institutions drive shareholder value, which drives share price, and that dictates everything in the decision-making process. That is a double-sided coin."
Tim Brooks, general manager UK at Avaya distributor Westcon Convergence also hailed the move as a positive one.
"They would not IPO unless their results and outlook were favourable. The $1bn raised is likely to drive further innovation and growth, which is, again, positive for Avaya channel partners."
The IPO will end four years of private ownership for Avaya, after the formerly New York-listed vendor was bought for $8.2bn by private equity firms Silver Lake and TPG Capital in 2007.
Its annual revenue - which stood at $5.28bn at the time of the sale in 2007 - has failed to grow under private ownership. However, sales did rebound 22 per cent to $5.06bn in FY10 following a tough 2009.
Operating losses and debt have also grown over the past four years. During the three months to 31 March this year, long-term debt grew about four per cent to $6.14bn.