Cisco said that it has completed the acquisition of BroadSoft for $1.9 billion. In October, last year, the hardware networking giant had announced that it was acquiring BroadSoft, a US-based unified communications software and services firm to strengthen its foray into software, a domain mostly dominated by its arch rivals but gradually picking up since June 2017, after it made announcement around ‘Network Intuitive’.
This acquisition will accelerates Cisco’s cloud strategy and collaboration portfolio by adding cloud calling and contact center solutions to Cisco’s calling, meetings, messaging, customer care, hardware endpoints and services portfolio. Cisco said, “More and more businesses expect fully featured calling, meeting, messaging and contact center solutions with the ability to deploy them flexibly – on premises, in the cloud or as hybrid solutions to leverage existing investments. By combining BroadSoft’s open interface and standards-based solutions primarily delivered via Service Provider partners, with Cisco’s existing portfolio, the combined company will offer solutions for businesses of all sizes which will be delivered through VAR and Service Provider partners.”
Now, together, Cisco and BroadSoft will deliver a full suite of collaboration to businesses. After this deal, former BroadSoft CEO Michael Tessler and his organisation are joining Cisco’s Unified Communications Technology Group led by Vice President and General Manager Tom Puorro, under the Applications Group led by Rowan Trollope.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco is paying $55 per share, in cash, in exchange for each share of BroadSoft common stock, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.9 billion net of cash and investment, assuming fully diluted shares including conversion of debt. Cisco expects that the delisting of BroadSoft’s common stock from the NASDAQ stock market will formally become effective on February 12, 2018.
