Zoom is pressing the answer button on a major acquisition

The video conferencing application is taking advantage of an impressive rise in its stock price in the past year and is now set to make its first major acquisition.

Zoom, which was valued at about $9 billion at its IPO two years ago, confirmed it has agreed on a deal to buy cloud call centre service provider Five9 for approximately $14.7 billion in an all-stock transaction.

Five9 will become an operating unit of Zoom after the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

The planned buyout is Zoom’s latest attempt to expand its offerings.

In the past year, the video conferencing software has added several office collaboration products, a cloud phone system, and an all-in-one home communications appliance.

Reports state that the acquisition of Five9 will help Zoom enter the “$24 billion” market for contact centers.

“We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our platform, and the addition of Five9 is a natural fit that will deliver even more happiness and value to our customers,”

said Eric S. Yuan, founder and chief executive of Zoom, in a statement.

Joining forces will offer both firms “significant” cross-selling opportunities in each other’s respective customer bases.

COVID pandemic sees the rise in video call platforms

As the world continues to work remotely, many from home – the world has seen a rise in video call platforms.

From Microsoft Teams, Google Meet’s, Skype and even Apple’s Facetime, which is set to launch on Android – the race is on between the tech giants to maintain a strong and viable product.

Zoom’s competitors have launched hybrid work features in a race to accommodate companies’ needs. 

Microsoft has unveiled design changes to its Microsoft Teams platform in order to improve remote workers’ interactions in meetings, while Google has revealed updates to its Workspace productivity suite, including new tools for its Meet video conferencing system.