Cisco is certainly no stranger when it has come to making large acquisitions, having bet big on a purchase of Linksys all the way back in 2003. While rumors began circulating that the company was considering killing off the Linksys brand five years later, Belkin would eventually snap up the subsidiary in 2013 for an undisclosed amount, completing the purchase in just two months.
Now, Cisco could be on the precipice of sealing a near $2 billion deal to acquire BroadSoft, a US telecommunications software and services company known for its cloud PABX, unified communications, and team collaboration offerings in the industry. Although reports had begun trickling out back in August about a potential deal, a source close to the matter believes that an agreement could be reached as soon as Monday.
Unsurprisingly, Cisco declined to comment on the matter but a successful negotiation would see BroadSoft become its second big-ticket purchase this year after the $3.7 billion acquisition of AppDynamics back in March. While a prospective transaction would indeed be a step outside the network equipment giant's more traditional area of focus, it could end up being a potentially important area of diversification given the ongoing drop in revenue in its switch and router business.
Of course, while the company has taken the lead of other major technological incumbents by looking to areas of high growth, such as security services and IoT, to help maintain relevance in a changing IT landscape, it remains to be seen if Cisco's latest foray will end up being a sound investment.
Source: Reuters
