Citrix Systems returns to sale exploration under activist investor pressure

Kathrin Ziegler/DigitalVision via Getty Images

• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ:CTXS) shares are up 5% in pre-market trading after a report that the company is working with advisers to explore a potential sale.
• Bloomberg sources say Citrix will spend the next few weeks exploring the interest levels of potential buyers. The talks are said to follow activist investor Elliott Investment Management taking a 10% stake in the company.
• A deal could fail to materialize or Citrix could decide to remain a standalone company.
• In 2015, Elliott Management pressed Citrix to explore its potential options, leading to a settlement and the awarding of a board seat. Two years later, Citrix reportedly approached potential buyers but the talks stalled over valuation.
• Shares of the workspace software company are down nearly 16% year-to-date.
• In July, Barclays downgraded Citrix from Overweight to Underweight after the company missed second-quarter revenue estimates and lowered its full-year guidance due to SaaS transition challenges.
• Citrix pared some of those losses earlier this month when news broke about Elliott's more than $1B stake.