Q3 2008 Communications (Horizontal) Transactions
Zeacom acquires Mi-Audio and Mi-Eval Divisions from Talking Computers
Zeacom, global provider of Unified Communications solutions for the small-to-medium sized business market, has purchased New Zealand-based Talking Computer’s Mi-Audio and Mi-Eval product lines. Coupled with an anticipated $1 million increase in revenue for Zeacom over the next 15 months, the addition and integration of these product lines will enhance the functionality of the company’s award-winning Zeacom Communication Center (ZCC) 5.1 UC suite to include voice recording and training modules, thereby solidifying its position as the industry leader in customer interaction solutions. The Mi-Audio module is a cost-effective Windows-based call recording technology for contact centers. Used in conjunction with the Integrated Evaluation, Call Assessment and Coaching module, Mi-Audio and Mi-Eval will provide Zeacom customers with objective evaluation, training and ongoing support. This acquisition further enhances Zeacom’s already strong functionality in the business-critical Contact Center divisions of Staff Training and Call Recording.
Announcement Date: September 16, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
Synchronoss Technologies to acquire Wisor Telecom
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., provider of on-demand transaction management software to Tier One communications service providers, is acquiring Wisor Telecom, provider of software and service solutions that enable its clients to manage, execute and provision their end customers with automation order accuracy. The acquisition expands Synchronoss’ customer and technology footprint, in particular related to service provider-to-service provider automation, as well as augmenting the company’s global R&D and operations capabilities. The addition of Wisor expands Synchronoss’ domestic and international carrier footprint, which the company believes will provide the opportunity for faster deployments of its ConvergenceNow product into prospective clients and early stage accounts.
Announcement Date: September 10, 2008
Deal Value: $18 Million (Cash)
More (Telenor) acquires Finnish Technology Company
More Mobile Relations (Sweden) is continuing its rapid expansion through the takeover of Add2Phone (Finland). Mobile marketing is a sharply expanding sector today. More Mobile Relations, known as More, is owned by Telenor and is currently the fastest-growing company in this sector. With the right expertise, knowledge of mobile phones as a communication tool and a broad offering in the Nordic countries, More aims to lead the Nordic market. More acquired three companies this spring: Active Loop Marketing in Norway, N’volve in Denmark and 12snap-Lokomobil in Sweden. The takeover of Add2Phone completes More’s Nordic constellation, allowing the company to offer a wide range of mobile solutions for various customer segments and product areas throughout the Nordic region.
Announcement Date: August 28, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
HCL Tech buys Control Point
IT services provider HCL Technologies said it is acquiring U.S.-based Control Point Solutions. Control Point provides voice, data and wireless telecommunications expense management (TEM) services. As per the agreement, HCL would acquire four delivery centers along with over 200 professionals of Control Point. The strategic acquisition of Control Point Solutions is in line with HCL BPO’s goal to make strategic, platform-based acquisitions which give it sustainable competitive advantage in chosen verticals. This acquisition enhances HCL’s ability to become an end-to-end provider of business process outsourcing services in the attractive TEM space.
Announcement Date: August 26, 2008
Deal Value: $20.8 Million
Nortel acquires Bluesocket Unified Communications Subsidiary Pingtel
Nortel has acquired Pingtel Corp., a Bluesocket subsidiary and a recognized leader in open source enterprise unified communications solutions. Pingtel will provide new software capabilities to Nortel's enterprise unified communications portfolio, as well as additional research and development capabilities. This transaction brings Pingtel's existing OEM relationship with Nortel in-house. Also, this acquisition is another building block in Nortel's vision to be a software-centric company and the leading provider of unified communications solutions. Nortel believes that bringing Pingtel's critical R&D capabilities in-house will enable it to accelerate the development of new open IT-centric channels to market.
Announcement Date: August 13, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
Averox acquires Provisus Ltd
Averox Inc. is acquiring the assets of Provisus Ltd, a software development company based in the UK. The main product of Provisus Ltd is a provisioning and activation software solution called Provisus used by both fixed line and mobile telecom operators. Averox has been an exclusive worldwide reseller of the Provisus product for over a year. The resources and expertise already in Averox will enable Provisus to be rapidly developed to provide solutions for an increasing range of telecom services. Additionally, Averox can further drive Provisus sales by tightly integrating it with other Averox OSS solutions.
Announcement Date: August 7, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
8x8 acquires subscriber base from Avtex
8x8 Inc., a provider of Packet8 business, mobile and residential communication services, will acquire the iTELConnect subscriber base from Avtex Inc, a unified communications solution provider.
Announcement Date: July 30, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
NaeroDynamics acquires Information Edge Telco Solutions
NaeroDynamics, Inc. has acquired Information Edge Telco Solutions, Limited, an Irish corporation. IETS provides continuous performance improvement, financial management and business information solutions for telecommunications companies as well as large corporate enterprises that utilize significant telecommunications networks. IETS has the capability to cleanse and normalize large quantities of data. Its unique ECM proprietary software has been specifically developed to carry out end to end circuit inventory management quickly and accurately from the disparate data sets obtained from clients. IETS provides Naero with excellent customers such as BT, technologies and industry recognized leadership.
Announcement Date: July 23, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
Convergys to acquire Intervoice
Convergys Corporation is acquiring Intervoice, Inc. With its strong global brand, innovative technology, and large and loyal customer base, Intervoice is a leader in the software-based interactive voice response, contact center, and mobile messaging technology and applications markets. Intervoice is also recognized in the leader's quadrant among its peers as acknowledged in Gartner, Inc.’s ‘Magic Quadrant for Interactive Voice Response Systems and Enterprise Voice Portals’. By integrating Intervoice’s complementary speech automation, web self-care, and mobile applications, Convergys will be able to offer a comprehensive array of automated and live agent services. Intervoice’s products and services portfolio provides Convergys with an expanded offering, reduced time to market, and enhanced differentiation in the large and growing automated services market.
Announcement Date: July 16, 2008
Deal Value: $335 Million (Cash)
Seller Revenue: $202.4 Million (FYE February-08)
Sovereign Wealth Corp. to acquire CellCard
Sovereign Wealth Corp is acquiring CellCard from eAccounts, Inc. in an all stock transaction. CellCard has developed a fully functional user generated content platform which enables retailers to send rich multimedia ads to mobile phones in either SMS or MMS format. CellCard also provides a mobile phone-based payment application which enables CellCard’s customers to pay for goods and services via a credit card or debit card linked securely to their mobile phone. CellCard’s advanced compression technology enables marketers to instantly convert and deliver any existing TV, print, radio or web advertisement so that it can be viewed on most mobile handsets. CellCard significantly enhances Sovereign Wealth’s technology offering in the United States.
Announcement Date: July 14, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
Aspect Software acquires BlueNote Networks
Aspect Software, Inc., the world’s largest company solely focused on Unified Communications for the Contact Center, announced it has acquired substantially all of the assets of BlueNote Networks based in Tewksbury, Mass. The acquisition furthers the company’s recently announced unified communications for the contact center strategy with the addition of IT-ready, software-based products that communications-enable business processes (CEBP). Leveraging the BlueNote Networks technology, Aspect Software customers will now be able to extend session initiation protocol (SIP)-based voice, video and other real-time interactive communication services to enterprise users as an integral part of a service oriented architecture.
Announcement Date: July 9, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed
Radiant Systems acquires Orderman GmbH
Radiant Systems, Inc. has acquired Orderman GmbH, manufacturer of wireless handheld ordering and payment devices for the hospitality industry. Orderman’s innovative, mobile devices are widely recognized in the European hospitality marketplace. Based in Salzburg, Austria, Orderman develops wireless, handheld point of sale (POS) devices and related software that are deployed in a variety of hospitality venues, including restaurants, cafes, arenas, stadiums, and ski resorts. Restaurant operators typically realize a positive return on their investment in Orderman handheld terminals in less than 12 months by enabling servers to wait on a greater number of tables, increasing the restaurant’s table-turns through faster ordering and payment, and improving order accuracy. This acquisition puts Radiant in an excellent position to further accelerate the adoption of mobile devices in the global hospitality sector and to bring additional innovations to market across all of the industries it serves.
Announcement Date: July 7, 2008
Deal Value: $30.85 Million (Cash)