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Copenhagen sees another multi-billion kroner listing head to New York instead
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May 9th, 2014
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Zendesk joins the list of Danish companies going abroad for funding
The company Zendesk is the latest in a line of Danish companies to pursue an IPO overseas, Børsen business newspaper reports.
The company, which is a global market leader in cloud technology for optimising companies' client contact, is going after a market valuation of 625.5 million dollars (3.3 billion kroner) through its listing on the New York stock exchange.
I think it's a very fair valuation of Zendesk," Jimmy Fussing, managing partner of the venture fund Sunstone Capital, told Børsen. "If you look at their business model, they have a lot of returning customers. Zendesk's software is an integrated part of companies' internal systems and that makes customers very loyal. That creates a predictibility in turnover that investors are willing to pay a higher price for."
Denmark missing out
The company moved its headquarters to the USA in 2009 because it was unable to secure funding in Denmark.
“The difference between European and American investors is that the latter are willing to throw money into companies that are growing by more than 50 percent a year, but are operating at a loss. People are a lot more conservative here, where you look more at the earning capacity,” Fussing said to Børsen.
“That unfortunately creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that you can’t build the global winners of the future in Denmark.”
The Copenhagen stock exchange will be presenting proposals recommendations for making it easier for smaller companies to get listed. The government hopes to address the problem in its latest growth pack.
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