A sign in front of the Cisco Systems headquarters on Aug. 17, 2016 in San Jose, California.
Getty ImagesShares in IMImobile soared more than 47% on Monday, after the London-based cloud-communications software company agreed to a takeover bid from information technology giant Cisco Systems, in a deal valued at $730 million, including debt.
The back story. Cisco has been looking to move deeper into artificial intelligence (AI), as it seeks to create “smarter and faster” customer engagement solutions that make it easy for businesses to communicate with customers.
Listed on London’s junior AIM market, IMImobile provides software and services to businesses to connect with customers through interactive channels including social media, messaging and voice. Its customers include Walgreens, Best Buy, IHG, Capitec Bank and Vodafone.
What's new. The board of IMImobile has recommended Cisco’s takeover offer, which represents a 48% premium to the company’s closing share price of 402.50 pence on Friday.
News of the deal sent shares in IMImobile soaring 47.58% to 594 pence a share in early London trading. Shares in Cisco, which have fallen 7.6% so far this year, closed 0.61% to $44.38 in New York on Friday.
Read:Cisco Stock Is Rebounding After Earnings. Why There’s Still Work To Do.
Once the deal has closed, which is expected in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approval, the IMImobile team will join Cisco’s Contact Center department.
“IMImobile’s omnichannel capabilities make it easy for any marketing or service organization to message with their customers on any channel their customers prefer including WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat and Google RCS,” wrote Cisco’s vice president and general manager Omar Tawakol, in a blog post.
“In addition to making it as easy to communicate, IMImobile provides the ability to easily alter workflows with low code orchestration capabilities,” Tawakol added.
Separately on Monday, IMImobile said that its adjusted pretax profit in the first half to Sept. 30 rose 30% to £6.8 million, while revenue fell 9% to £75.9 million.
Looking ahead. Customer expectations are on the rise, especially with more people working from home, and Cisco wants to help its customers provide engaging and intuitive customer experiences. In September, Cisco acquired BabbleLabs, which uses AI to help noise reduction on collaboration technology such as videoconferencing.
By buying IMImobile, Cisco now hopes to integrate improved AI systems to provide front-line employees with the data to help personalize interactions with customers through their channel of choice, such as text messages, social media or a voice call.
Cisco has already received irrevocable undertakings or nonbinding letters of intent to vote in favor of the IMImobile deal, representing a 54.5% stake.
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Cisco Snaps Up U.K. Cloud Software Company for $730 Million - Barron's
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