(Reuters) - KKR-backed technology firm BMC Software has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, offering an early sign of a thawing market after a virtual shutdown for most of last year.
Spiraling global markets amid a widespread sell-off, particularly in the technology sector, and a geopolitical turmoil pushed many startups to shelve their stock market flotations last year till investor appetite improved.
As BMC sets out to test the IPO waters, a listing could see the company valued at between $14 billion and $15 billion, depending on the scale of market recovery, the source added.
BMC declined to comment on the matter.
In 2018, private equity giant KKR & Co (NYSE:KKR) had acquired BMC for $8.5 billion, including debt.
The U.S. IPO market has recently begun to show some signs of recovery as investor fears around a looming recession and further monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve ease.
A year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and an inflation rally fueled a bout of market volatility that prevented most initial public offerings in 2022, last week saw a flurry of listings. It is 15 months since there was a busier week, according to Dealogic data.
BMC, which provides software that helps companies organize their tech support functions, partners with major global firms including Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) Inc, Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and Wipro (NYSE:WIT) Limited, its website showed.
The news of BMC filing for an IPO confidentially was first reported by Bloomberg News.