Unfazed by IPO bonanza, billionaire Pattison happy to keep firm private
Ian Vandaelle, BNN Bloomberg VIDEO SIGN OUT
Billionaire business magnate Jimmy Pattison isnât chomping at the bit to head to public markets in spite of the bonanza in initial public offerings over the last year.
In a television interview Friday, Pattison, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Jim Pattison Group Inc., said running his operation away from the prying eyes of public markets has served him just fine over the conglomerateâs 58-year history.
âWeâve built our business being private. We do, of course, have investments in the stock market, and significant ones, certainly in the lumber business,â he said. âBut by and large, we have tried to build our business on a private basis, we have 48,000 employees as of the end of last year, so weâre getting along fine.â