The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Product decision · 2005–2019
TeamViewer: bootstrapped remote-access software becomes Europe's biggest 2019 tech IPO
Remote-desktop tool founded in 2005 grew profitably with no venture capital, sold to Permira for €870M, then floated in Europe's biggest 2019 tech IPO.
TeamViewer AG
What the business is
Remote-access and support software that lets users connect to and control computers over the internet; free for individual use, with businesses paying subscription fees.
How it started
TeamViewer was founded in 2005 and grew into one of the most widely installed remote-access tools in the world (SiliconANGLE). The model split the market: the software was free for individual users, while companies paid for remote IT support and collaboration (money.bg). CEO Oliver Steil later told Reuters: 'Our business has been profitable from the start.'
What happened
In 2014 British private equity firm Permira bought TeamViewer for €870 million (Reuters). Under Permira the company moved to a subscription-only model, launched an enterprise version in 2018 and kept compounding: 2018 sales of €230 million with €121 million EBITDA, and 2019 revenue guided to €310–320 million with EBITDA of €177–183 million (Reuters). It employed about 800 people.
How it ended up
In September 2019 TeamViewer listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in what was called Europe's biggest tech IPO of the year: shares priced at €26.25, Permira's share sale raised about €2.21 billion, and the market valued the company at around €5.25 billion (money.bg, SiliconANGLE). The IPO sold only existing shares — the company said it needed no fresh capital (Reuters).
Background
TeamViewer makes remote-access and support software: users connect to and control computers over the internet. Founded in 2005, it became one of the most installed remote tools in the world — SiliconANGLE counted more than 2 billion devices and 40 million sessions per day by September 2019, with the product used by over 90% of the Fortune 500.
The bet was a freemium split: the software was free for individuals, while businesses paid subscription fees for IT support and collaboration (money.bg). That model let usage spread without a sales force, and the company stayed profitable along the way — CEO Oliver Steil told Reuters in 2019 that 'our business has been profitable from the start.' Permira bought the company in 2014 for €870 million; by 2018 revenue reached €230 million with €121 million EBITDA, guided to €310–320 million for 2019.
In September 2019 TeamViewer listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Europe's biggest tech IPO of the year. Shares priced at €26.25, Permira's sale raised about €2.21 billion and the market valued the company near €5.25 billion. Because the float sold only existing shares, the company itself took no proceeds — Steil said TeamViewer needed no fresh money.
What has to be true
- The freemium split — free for individuals, paid for businesses — gave the software viral distribution without an enterprise sales force.
- Profitability from the start meant TeamViewer never needed venture capital and never diluted itself to chase growth.
- Compounding usage (2B+ devices by 2019) turned the Permira exit into a scale story, not a turnaround.
- The IPO sold only existing shares, proving the operating business genuinely needed no new capital.
What can be applied
Free-for-consumers, paid-for-business can compound without venture money; profitability from day one meant the eventual IPO sold growth, not a rescue story.
Aftermath
As of September 25, 2019, TeamViewer was a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange — Europe's biggest tech IPO of the year, valued at about €5.25 billion, with Permira remaining the majority shareholder. The stock slipped below its €26.25 offer price in early trading even though the offering was oversubscribed (money.bg). The company kept expanding into enterprise remote management and augmented-reality support, and management expected its addressable market to triple from about €10 billion by 2023.
Sources
- German software firm TeamViewer to float on stock exchange in September
- Remote assistance cloud software firm TeamViewer to raise up to $2.54B in IPO
- Акциите на TeamViewer падат леко след най-голямото европейско IPO през годината
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