MARCEL Lux III SARL (Marcel) Holding, the major shareholder of SUSE with 79% of the shares, has announced the transformation of SUSE from a public company to a private company. As a result, Marcel will not participate in the auction on the stock exchange. Shareholders who do not wish to sell their shares after the transformation will have the option to remain as shareholders in the private company. The Board of Directors and SUSE support this transformation, stating that leaving the stock exchange will allow the company to focus on its operations and long-term strategy.
Marcel has offered promotions to other shareholders at a price of euros per share in exchange. Following this announcement, the price of SUSE shares has increased to 15.27 euros. Comparatively, the price per share of SUSE reached 20.86 euros after entering the stock exchange. However, this year has seen a significant decrease in the value of SUSE shares.
In 2018, the Swedish investment corporation EQT, which controls MARCEL Holding, purchased the SUSE business unit for $2.5 billion. SUSE was then transformed into an independent company with EQT as its main shareholder. In 2021, SUSE was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, allowing public access to its shares. Prior to this, SUSE became part of Micro Focus in 2015 through the acquisition of Attachmate Group. Attachmate Group had previously acquired Novell in 2011 for $2.2 billion, which had purchased SUSE in 2003 for $210 million.