05:29 PM EDT, 03/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- After a slew of recent Canadian software company privatizations, Lightspeed Commerce Inc. ( LSPD ) founder Dax Dasilva is musing whether his enterprise should do the same, The Globe and Mail is reporting Monday.

It noted Lightspeed stock gained 3.4% on Monday after Dasilva told La Presse in an interview published in the morning that he has wondered about taking the company private. Lightspeed, one of Canada's most valuable software vendors, sells point-of-sale transaction software to retailers, restaurants, golf courses and hospitality providers.

Dasilva told The Globe and Mail that he had talked to investment bankers and dozens of investors since returning as interim chief executive officer last month, replacing former right-hand man Jean Paul Chauvet. That mid-February shakeup followed the negative reaction of investors to the company's latest financial update.

"People have remarked to me since I've come back that going private would be a good option for Lightspeed," he said. "As other companies weigh that decision, that's one of the strategic options open to the company. We're evaluating all options, our board has a fiduciary duty to evaluate all options."

Dasilva said Lightspeed's board had not formally launched a strategic review nor had it hired investment bankers: "We're passively receiving their recommendations. I'm taking a lot of calls. I'm open to discussions."

He said he continues to believe "the public markets are a good place for Lightspeed. If we can continue to be a high growth company and at the same time increase our margins, which is what investors want to see, I think we will be rewarded on the public market. The focus is operational efficiency and capital allocation."

Monday's report noted shares of fellow Montreal software company Nuvei Corp. ( NVEI ) also shot up last week after the digital payments processor confirmed reports it was engaged in potential takeover talks. If Nuvei ( NVEI ) privatizes, it would be the eighth technology company out of the 20 that went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange during a flurry of COVID-19-era offerings in 2020 and 2021 to leave the public markets.

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