BY Richard Summerfield
Zoom Video Communications Inc is to buy cloud-based call centre operator Five9 Inc in an all-stock deal worth $14.7bn. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022.
Under the terms of the deal, Five9 stockholders will receive 0.5533 shares of Class A common stock of Zoom for each share of Five9. Based on the closing share price of Zoom Class A common stock on 16 July 2021, this represents a per share price for Five9 common stock of $200.28 and an implied transaction value of approximately $14.7bn.
Zoom has risen to prominence over the last 18 months thanks to the role it has played in keeping businesses and schools operating during the pandemic. But as economies begin to open up thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine roll out, the company has been under pressure to diversify its product offering.
“The acquisition is expected to help enhance Zoom’s presence with enterprise customers and allow it to accelerate its long-term growth opportunity by adding the $24-billion contact center market,” Zoom said in a statement.
Five9 is a cloud-based call centre operator whose facilities are used by more than 2000 clients globally.
“We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our platform, and the addition of Five9 is a natural fit that will deliver even more happiness and value to our customers,” said Eric S. Yuan, chief executive and founder of Zoom. “Zoom is built on a core belief that robust and reliable communications technology enables interactions that build greater empathy and trust, and we believe that holds particularly true for customer engagement.
“Enterprises communicate with their customers primarily through the contact center, and we believe this acquisition creates a leading customer engagement platform that will help redefine how companies of all sizes connect with their customers,” he added. “We are thrilled to join forces with the Five9 team, and I look forward to welcoming them to the Zoom family.”
“Businesses spend significant resources annually on their contact centers, but still struggle to deliver a seamless experience for their customers,” said Rowan Trollope, chief executive of Five9. “It has always been Five9’s mission to make it easy for businesses to fix that problem and engage with their customers in a more meaningful and efficient way.
“Joining forces with Zoom will provide Five9’s business customers access to best-of-breed solutions, particularly Zoom Phone, that will enable them to realize more value and deliver real results for their business,” he continued. “This, combined with Zoom’s ‘ease-of use’ philosophy and broad communication portfolio, will truly enable customers to engage via their preferred channel of choice.”
News: Zoom to buy cloud-based call center operator Five9 in $15 bln deal