Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation — The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (“Bentley” or the “Company”) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for annual financial statements. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10‑K on file with the SEC. In management’s opinion, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal, recurring and non-recurring adjustments) that were considered necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows at the dates and for the periods indicated. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The December 31, 2020 consolidated balance sheet included herein is derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements.

Seequent Acquisition — On June 17, 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of Seequent Holdings Limited (“Seequent”), a leader in software for geological and geophysical modeling, geotechnical stability, and cloud services for geodata management and collaboration, for $910,997 in cash, net of cash acquired, plus 3,141,342 shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock (see Note 4).

Convertible Senior Notes — On January 26, 2021, the Company completed a private offering of $690,000 of 0.125% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”). The Company incurred $18,055 of expenses in connection with the 2026 Notes offering consisting of the payment of initial purchasers’ discounts and commissions, professional fees, and other expenses (“transaction costs”). In connection with the pricing of the 2026 Notes, the Company entered into capped call options with certain of the initial purchasers or their respective affiliates and certain other financial institutions. The capped call options are expected to reduce potential dilution to the Company’s Class B Common Stock upon any conversion of 2026 Notes and/or offset any cash payments the Company is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap. The Company paid premiums of $25,530 in connection with the capped call options (see Note 10).

On June 28, 2021, the Company completed a private offering of $575,000 of 0.375% convertible senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”). The Company incurred $15,065 of expenses in connection with the 2027 Notes offering consisting of transaction costs. In connection with the pricing of the 2027 Notes, the Company entered into capped call options with certain of the initial purchasers or their respective affiliates and certain other financial institutions. The capped call options are expected to reduce potential dilution to the Company’s Class B Common Stock upon any conversion of 2027 Notes and/or offset any cash payments the Company is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap. The Company paid premiums of $25,875 in connection with the capped call options (see Note 10).

Deferred Compensation — Under the Company’s unfunded Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan, as amended and restated, effective as of September 22, 2020 (the “DCP”), certain officers and key employees may defer all or any part of their incentive compensation, and the Company may make discretionary awards on behalf of such participants. Elective participant deferrals and discretionary Company awards are received in the form of phantom shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock, which are valued for tax and accounting purposes in the same manner as actual shares of Class B Common Stock, and are recorded as stock‑based compensation expense in the consolidated statements of operations (see Note 15).

In August 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an amendment to the DCP, which offered to certain active executives in the DCP a one‑time, short‑term election to reallocate a limited portion of their DCP holdings from phantom shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock into other DCP phantom investment funds. The offer to reallocate was subject to a proration mechanism which adjusted the aggregate elections to a maximum of 1,500,000 phantom shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock. This resulted in a reduction of 1,500,000 shares in both the basic and diluted count of Company shares.

While DCP participants’ investments in phantom shares remain equity classified, as they will be settled in shares of Class B Common Stock upon eventual distribution, the amendment and elections resulted in a change to liability classification for the reallocated phantom investments, as they will be settled in cash upon eventual distribution. As a result, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company reclassified cumulative compensation cost of $4,739 from Additional paid-in capital to Accruals and other current liabilities or Deferred compensation plan liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet and recognized a compensation charge of $90,721 to Deferred compensation plan expenses in the consolidated statements of operations to record the reallocated deferred compensation plan liabilities at their fair value of $95,460. Subsequent to the one‑time reallocation, these diversified deferred compensation plan liabilities are marked to market at the end of each reporting period, with changes in the liabilities recorded as an expense (income) to Deferred compensation plan in the consolidated statements of operations.

Certain reclassifications of prior period amounts have been made to conform to the current period presentation (see Note 12).

Initial Public Offering — On September 25, 2020, the Company completed its initial public offering (“IPO”). The selling stockholders sold 12,360,991 shares of Class B Common Stock at a public offering price of $22.00 per share. The Company did not sell any shares in the IPO and did not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the Class B Common Stock sold by the selling stockholders. For further detail, see the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10‑K on file with the SEC.

Follow-On Public Offering — On November 17, 2020, the Company completed its follow‑on public offering of 11,500,000 shares of Class B Common Stock at a public offering price of $32.00 per share (the “Follow‑On Offering”). The Company sold 9,603,965 shares of Class B Common Stock (inclusive of 1,500,000 shares sold upon the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock). The selling stockholders sold 1,896,035 shares of Class B Common Stock. The Company received net proceeds of $294,429 after deducting expenses of $12,898. The Company did not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the Class B Common Stock sold by the selling stockholders. For further detail, see the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10‑K on file with the SEC.

Special Dividend — On August 28, 2020, the Company’s board of directors declared a special dividend of $1.50 per share of the Company’s common stock ($392,489 in the aggregate) (the “Special Dividend”), payable to all stockholders of record as of August 31, 2020, including dividends which accrue on certain unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”). For further detail, see the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10‑K on file with the SEC.

Risks and Uncertainties — COVID‑19 Pandemic — In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic related to the rapidly growing outbreak of the disease COVID‑19, caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, SARS‑CoV‑2. The COVID‑19 outbreak and certain preventative or protective actions that governments, businesses, and individuals have taken in respect of COVID‑19 have resulted in global business disruptions.

In response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Company implemented a number of initiatives to ensure the safety of its colleagues and enable them to move to a work from home environment seamlessly and continue working effectively. The Company continues to monitor the global situation, with the health and safety of our colleagues and users as a top priority. Currently, the majority of the Company’s workforce remains remote due to COVID-19. The Company’s business model is such that there was minimal disruption to the Company’s ability to deliver its solutions to accounts.