Applied, over the course of 30 years as a private company, did not stray far from its founding mission. It kept its original leadership, Said Hilal remains as chief executive, and Nabil Hilal is now a group president.
Startups with private equity or venture capital investors return equity to their investors through a merger or an IPO. Applied was not immune to investor pressure and filed paperwork in 2011 to sell some 6.4 million shares of its common stock on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board. It said it was compelled to do the offering by one of its main investors, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) in Menlo Park, to provide liquidity to its limited partners. IVP Founder Reid Dennis told Fortune Magazine at the time that the fund which invested in Applied was supposed to be a 10-year-fund…and in 2011 the investment was now 24-years old. “This is a very successful company [Applied], Dennis said. “Our investors, some of them, have a real need for liquidity.”
The sale was expected to yield about $95 million, according to published reports. Applied did not confirm.
Applied did not go through with the offering and resolved the issue in a settlement, through which it acquired all of IVP’s shares. Per the filing, Said Hilal is the largest individual owner.
“Today [Applied] is owned primarily by the people who worked it,” said Nabil Hilal. He said the company values its independence and status as a private company—“It allows us to be more responsive to our stakeholders and make decisions that are best for them and their needs, not based on a 90-day calendar.”
