Shareholders said no to Zoom acquisition of Five9
Zoom’s USD 15 billion acquisition of cloud based call centre operator Five9 has been stopped as Five9’s shareholders voted down the deal. The acquisition would have been Zoom’s biggest and was seen as the company preparing to expand its offerings after the company’s boom during the pandemic when both business and socializing moved to video calls.
The shareholders’ no came after proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)and Glass Lewis earlier had recommended Five9 shareholders to vote against the deal. Zoom recently in connection with the Q2 report said growth was slowing down.
Zoom said that it instead would launch its own cloud-based contact centre Video Engagement Center early next year. Five9 said it would continue the partnership with Zoom that had started before he announced planned acquisition.
A US Justice Department committee has reviewed the proposed acquisition over possible national security concerns. Zoom’s possible Chinese connection has been raised as an issue.
US lawmakers have earlier asked Zoom to clarify its data-collection practices and relationship with the Chinese government after Zoom said it had suspended user accounts to meet demands from Beijing.
“While we were excited about the benefits this transaction would bring to both Zoom and Five9 stakeholders, including the long-term potential for both sets of shareholders, financial discipline is foundational to our strategy,” Eric S. Yuan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Zoom, said in a statement.
“The contact center market remains a strategic priority for Zoom, and we are confident in our ability to capture its growth potential. At Zoomtopia, we announced the Zoom Video Engagement Center, our cloud-based contact center solution, which will launch in early 2022.
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