The stock exchange price of the Swabian software company Teamviewer has been under pressure for a long time, and the share has seen a rapid decline. While the paper was around 40 euros in May, it was just under 14 euros this Monday. The reason is, among other things, incorrect forecasts. Teamviewer is now parting ways with CFO Stefan Gaiser. Gaiser’s contract, which expires in August 2022, will not be extended and the search for a successor has already begun, the supervisory board announced on Sunday evening. In addition, a sales manager is being sought with whom the board is to be expanded to four members. This currently consists of CEO Oliver Steil, the current CFO and Head of Marketing Lisa Agona. Steil’s contract was simultaneously extended by three years until October 2024.
The decision made the Teamviewer share on Monday morning temporarily the biggest price winner in the M-Dax small cap index, but by midday the euphoria evaporated again. One dealer was skeptical: “Whether a new head of sales is enough or whether a major renovation would have been necessary remains to be seen.” The chairman of the supervisory board, Abe Peled, a representative of the major shareholder Permira, put Steil and the board of directors under pressure: The latest development is “very disappointing”. A package of measures has been worked out jointly, which provides for, among other things, “the adjustment of the cost structure and the consistent implementation of the strategy”. “One of the top priorities for the management team will be to win back the trust of the capital market,” said Peled. For the IPO in 2019, Steil and Gaiser had received bonuses and share packages in the double-digit millions, they were among the best-paid managers in Germany.
The start-up from Göppingen near Stuttgart offers remote maintenance and conference software and was thus at times one of the big winners of the Corona crisis, which had driven the share to almost 50 euros by February. Expensive sponsorship deals, less growth in the first half of the year and a drastic correction of the forecasts two weeks ago sent the paper down.
In March, CEO Steil announced that Teamviewer will be the shirt sponsor of Manchester United. The Premier League club is one of the most famous clubs in the world and last signed Cristiano Ronaldo in a spectacular deal. The team has been wearing the Teamviewer logo on their chest since the summer. Later the company also got involved in Formula 1. The very expensive sports sponsorship met with criticism. “We have set out to build a successful tech champion from Europe,” said company boss Steil. However, it will still take some time.