Cisco has announced it will acquire cloud calling and contact center solutions provider BroadSoft for $1.9 billion (net of cash).
This acquisition strengthens Cisco’s unified communications portfolio and enhances its ability to support the large number of legacy TDM (time-division multiplexing) lines that are expected to migrate to IP-based and cloud-native solutions over time. By combining strengths, Cisco aims to accelerate service providers’ and enterprises’ transition to modern communications platforms.
Rowan Trollope, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Applications Business Group, commented: “Together, Cisco and BroadSoft will deliver a comprehensive suite of collaboration capabilities across all market segments. Our combined offerings—from Cisco’s enterprise collaboration technology to BroadSoft’s service-provider-delivered solutions for small and medium businesses—will provide customers with greater choice and flexibility.”
Michael Tessler, President and CEO of BroadSoft, said: “As businesses increasingly move to the cloud in search of simplicity and speed, joining Cisco enables us to deliver world-class collaboration tools and services. BroadSoft’s hosted solutions, sold through service providers and focused on small and medium businesses, are highly complementary to Cisco’s on-premises and enterprise-focused HCS offerings. Together, we can empower teams to create, collaborate, and perform in new ways.”
Both companies’ boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in Q1 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Once the deal is finalized, BroadSoft employees will join Cisco’s Unified Communications Technology Group. Until closing, Cisco and BroadSoft will continue to operate as separate entities.