Zoom Video Communications Inc has announced that is buying cloud-based call center operator Five9 Inc. This will be the largest ever acquisition for the company the video teleconferencing software. As part of the deal, Zoom will buy the company in an all-stock transaction that will put the value of the company at around USD 14.7 billion. Zoom became extremely popular during the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first billion-dollar acquisition by the company and the second biggest tech deal in the United States this year. The first one was Microsoft’s USD 16 billion deal to purchase Nuance Communications. The deal comes at a time when Zoom is bracing for the post-pandemic scenario where more and more people heading back to the office. This means that it will directly impact the users of the video app. The acquisition can come in handy as it would boost the company’s appeal with business clients.
Commenting on the deal, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said that they are continuously looking for ways to improve the platform. “Zoom is continuously looking to make changes and additions to make it a better platform. Five9 will be a natural fit for the company and it will give more value and happiness to users of Zoom,” Yuan said. Zoom said that those having stocks of Five9 will get 0.5533 shares of the company for every Five9 share. This will put the value of Five9 shares at USD 200.28. Five9 has over 2,000 clients around the globe and provides software to customer service to their centers.
Zoom has been one of the most successful stories in the 16 months since the coronavirus pandemic caused a complete shutdown, forcing people to work from remote locations and conduct meeting through video conferencing. This popularity resulted in an increase in revenue by 326 percent in 2020. However, the company is facing a natural slowdown as more and more people are reporting in offices and in-person meetings have begun. On top of this, it is facing tough competition from rivals like Microsoft’s Teams. Five9 too has been on an upward growth trajectory as demand for technologies in call centers grew during the pandemic. These technologies were necessary to allow representatives to work from their homes. Also, companies quickly shifted to all cloud software for almost everything.
