OVHcloud launches its IPO process – archyworldys

OVHcloud, the French champion of the cloud (dematerialized computing), which had indicated at the beginning of the year its desire to go public, has taken the plunge. Monday, September 20, the Roubaix company announced the approval of its registration document, which should lead it to enter Euronext Paris by the end of the year at the latest.

The operation should enable it, by issuing new shares, to carry out a capital increase of up to 400 million euros. The number of shares created is not yet known, which makes it impossible to know the valuation of the company. The current shareholders of the company will also put part of their shares on the market. At the end of the operation, Octave Klaba, the founder of OVH, and his family, who currently hold 80% of the capital, should remain largely in the majority.

OVH definitely cultivates its singularity. Unlike the vast majority of French start-ups which finance themselves by resorting to private funds, the company created in 1999 by Octave Klaba has only resorted to it once, with a fundraising of 250 million euros in 2016. Now, she is becoming one of the very few French unicorns (start-ups valued at more than a billion dollars) to attempt the risky bet of the Stock Exchange in France.

Develop services

Recently, Believe made this choice with mixed success. After a worrying tumble, the share price is now a little above its introductory price. A choice assumed, however, by Michel Paulin, the CEO of the company, for whom this option was the best “To accelerate the growth of the company”. The objective is to increase it to 25% by 2025, against 20% on average in recent years.

OVHcloud has 1.6 million customers in more than 140 countries and achieved, in 2020, 632 million euros in turnover

In order to achieve this, the company wishes to develop the range of services, while historically it has built its success on the infrastructure market, to expand its activities outside Europe, where it achieves 80% of its turnover. ‘business, and go and get more large corporate accounts. Even if it wants to favor organic growth, the company leaves the door open to acquisitions to develop more quickly.

Faced with the American giants of the sector, Amazon, Microsoft and Google, OVHcloud has established itself as the only major European player. It has 1.6 million customers in more than 140 countries and achieved, in 2020, 632 million euros in turnover.. While data sovereignty is a growing concern for users, the Roubaisien believes that he enjoys a “Single position” as a French actor, explains Paulin.

OVH’s initiative could have been compromised by the fire which destroyed part of its facilities in Strasbourg in March, causing bad publicity around the company. Michel Paulin wants to believe that the episode should not handicap him during its IPO.