Contract management platform DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) shares were flat Wednesday, after telling the public it is committed to remaining a public company and is working to convince investors of its artificial intelligence potential, after reports suggested the firm had been the target of takeover interest from private equity suitors.
“We’re focused on building a great, independent public company,” CEO Allan Thygesen told the media in an interview earlier this week at a partner event the company held in London. “I joined DocuSign as a public company, it’s a very exciting time right now, so that’s our plan.”
DocuSign, which offers a popular service that allows users to sign contracts digitally, was rumored to have been circled by suitors Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, according to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg earlier this year citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters and Bloomberg both reported the PE firms were dueling to buy DocuSign for almost $13 billion. According to a February Reuters report, Bain Capital and Hellman & Freshman paused their pursuit of DocuSign due to disagreements over how much they should pay to buy the firm.
DOCU shares obtained one cent to $59.90.