SAS reports progress toward stock offering, searching for office space tenants

CARY – SAS just hosted one of its big annual events – this one in large part focusing on artificial intelligence – in Las Vegas. But the global software firm based in Cary has plenty of other business going on internally.

Like its announced plans to gear up for a public stock offering.

And searching for tenants to sublease space in two buildings on its Cary campus.

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First, the IPO

The stock offering apparently won’t happen in 2024 as originally estimated, says company spokesperson Shannon Heath. But a lot of internal changes are being made to prepare for it, she tells WRAL TechWire.

SAS is privately held.

“We continue to make great progress toward being IPO-ready,” she explains. “Being IPO-ready only means that we would be financially and operationally fit to enter the public markets. As an established, privately held company with many global subsidiaries, it is time intensive to standardize policies, procedures, and systems (which worked well for a private company) to the requirements of a public company.”

As for a timeline …

” Our goal to be IPO-ready in 2024 was always an estimated date, and we continue to march toward our IPO-readiness goals'” Heath says. “When we have achieved IPO-readiness, we would evaluate the market conditions to ensure it is the right environment for our public debut.”

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Open office space

SAS recently began seeking tenants to sublease space in two buildings.

“There is no update on office space,” Heath says. “We have not secured tenants at this time.”

Sublease space has climbed substantially in the Triangle due in part to changes in workplace requirements – much more work-from-home – due to the COVID pandemic.

The space opened up in the wake of pandemic and workforce changes such as more people working from home.

“SAS owns all the buildings on campus. We currently have two buildings available for lease,” Heath noted when the news surfaced in August. “This is a decision we made because of continued remote working following the pandemic. “

Employees have flexibility in workplace choices, she noted.

“We continue to provide a flexible work environment for our employees, which allows for partial or fully remote work options. As such, we want to use our office space more efficiently,” Heath explained

“We relocated some employee offices from partially occupied buildings to other areas of campus to maximize building occupancy and operational efficiency, as well as enable even more collaboration on campus.”

SAS also has made moves affecting office space at its international operations, as WRAL TechWire reported in May.