Cloud computing software company
Citrix Systems Inc. (Citrix) is to lose staff and spin off its “GoTo” activity into a separate business. Citrix, which has headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, offers a range of services including the app and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) services such as desktop virtualization, the Citrix Workspace Suite, ShareFile, Citrix Workspace Cloud and GoToMeeting. The news brought the company’s shares down by 3%.
Citrix, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been experiencing difficulty competing in a crowded cloud-based services market and will downsize by letting 1,000 staff go. This represents around 10% of the company’s total personnel. The company’s interim CEO Mr. Bob Calderoni suggested in a recent press release that its GoTo services, which have an estimated value of around $4 billion, are best suited to operate as a separate business. The moves have been prompted by pressure from Elliott Management, the management affiliate of US hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limited – a principal investor in the company. Elliott Management took 7.1% of Citrix in June this year.
"Upon review, it is clear to us that the GoTo family of products is best suited to grow and operate as a standalone business," suggested Mr. Calderoni in a press release. "This separation will create a leading, pure-play SaaS company that will have a targeted focus with the flexibility to invest in its portfolio of products. It will also allow Citrix to refocus and amplify investment in our core mission to enable secure and reliable delivery of apps and data for the modern enterprise. We look forward to a seamless transition for our employees, customers, partners and other key stakeholders."
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