Soon-to-be-private Veritas plotting public comeback

IPO due between 24 and 36 months after privatisation in January

Veritas is already plotting its return to the stock exchange, months before the ink is set to dry on its privatisation.

At its Partner Link conference today in Monaco, the company talked up the benefits it predicts being private will bring the company and its partners - including being more agile and focused - but said eventually, returning to the stock exchange is the way to go.

Last October, Symantec announced plans to split in two - a security business, and an information management unit, which it later revealed would be called Veritas - the name of the company it acquired back in 2005. The firm operationally split three weeks ago, but the deal will be sealed in January when private equity firm Carlyle takes over Vertias.

Throughout their presentations, Veritas execs have been keen to talk up the benefits of "uncoupling" from Symantec and said being private will allow it to better focus on its partners.

But in a media Q&A session, the firm revealed that it is already plotting its IPO as a standalone firm.

Brett Shirk, Veritas' executive vice president for worldwide sales, said being private initially is "absolutely, without a doubt" the best outcome for Veritas.

"We would definitely have been challenged in the public markets for, you know, about four to six quarters while we establish... a consistent performance," he said. "Under private equity, we can get this business in tip-top shape."

But he stressed being private is not the long-term goal.

"The expectation is that we will IPO Veritas in the next 24 to 36 months," he said. "But their [Carlyle's] track record is to stay invested for a period of around five to seven years so they will have a big stake in the organisation after the IPO."

Throughout the presentations, Veritas execs took the opportunity to make gentle jibes at Symantec, with some claiming being part of the combined organisation meant Veritas was "hindered by bureaucracy" and others taking a stab at its website, branding it "the yellow product pages".

When the Carlyle privatisation deal closes in January, Bill Coleman will join Veritas as its chief executive. In a pre-recorded video message played at the conference, he told partners that he too thinks Veritas got the rough end of the stick under Symantec.

"When Carlyle asked me to join them back in February I didn't quite expect to find as exciting a company and opportunity as I have," he admitted. "This is an amazing asset that has thrived through the under-attention and under-funding from Symantec. That has really got me excited."