Plantronics is to acquire Polycom in a $2.0 billion transaction. Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close by the end of Q3 2018.
Netherlands-based Plantronics, which exhibited at ISE for the first time in 2018, specialises in headsets and headphones for business and consumer markets, and also produces phone handsets and communications software.
Joe Burton, president and CEO of Plantronics, said: “With the addition of Polycom’s solutions across video, audio and collaboration we will be able to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of communications and collaboration touch points and services to our customers and channel partners. This will put Plantronics in an ideal position to solve for today’s enterprise collaboration requirements while capitalising on market opportunities associated with the evolving, intelligent enterprise.”
Mary T McDowell, CEO of Polycom, said:“Polycom has returned to growth by focusing on building strong ecosystem partnerships and delivering innovative, smart solutions for our customers and partners. Bringing Plantronics and Polycom together will broaden the breadth of solutions available to customers and partners and create a consistent end-user experience across many collaboration applications and devices. As one company, Plantronics and Polycom will make it even easier for all customers to solve big-business problems through human-to-human connections.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Plantronics will acquire Polycom for an estimated $948 million in cash, 6.352 million Plantronics shares (valued at $362 million) and an estimated $690 million of net debt. Polycom shareholders will own approximately 16.0% of the combined company.
