SAN JOSE, CA – Cisco Systems is buying software maker BroadSoft Inc. for approximately $1.9 billion.
Cisco said that the acquisition reinforces its commitment to Unified Communications and enhances its ability to address the millions of aging TDM lines poised to transition to IP technology and cloud native solutions over the coming years.
The deal has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected to close during the first quarter of calendar year 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review. Cisco and BroadSoft will continue to operate as separate companies prior to the close, but upon completion of the transaction, BroadSoft employees will join Cisco's Unified Communications Technology Group.
"Together, Cisco and BroadSoft will deliver a robust suite of collaboration capabilities across every market segment," said Rowan Trollope, SVP and GM of Cisco's applications business group. "We believe that our combined offers, from Cisco's collaboration technology for enterprises to BroadSoft's suite for small and medium businesses delivered through Service Providers will give customers more choice and flexibility."
"We are excited about this transaction, which represents the culmination of a robust process undertaken by BroadSoft's Board of Directors to maximize shareholder value," added BroadSoft president and CEO Michael Tessler. "As businesses continue to move toward the cloud in search of simplicity and speed, joining Cisco will allow us to deliver best-in-class collaboration tools and services. BroadSoft's hosted offerings, sold through the Service Providers and aimed at small and medium businesses, are highly complementary to Cisco's on-premises and enterprise-centric HCS offerings. Together, we can inspire teams to create, collaborate and perform in ways never before imagined."
