Ericsson to buy cloud firm Vonage for $6.2 billion
Stockholm-Mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson (ERIC) said on Monday it had agreed to buy cloud communications firm Vonage (VG) for $6.2 billion.
The deal was the Swedish firm's biggest in years and follows its acquisition of US-based wireless networking company Cradlepoint for $1.1 billion in 2020.
"The merger agreement was approved unanimously by the Board of Vonage," Ericsson said in a statement.
"The transaction builds upon Ericsson's stated intent to expand globally in wireless enterprise, offering existing customers an increased share of a market valued at $700 billion by 2030."
Vonage had sales of $1.4 billion in the 12-month period to Sept. 30 2021, with a margin on adjusted earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) of 14% and free cash flow of $109 million.
The acquisition marks a new phase after a period since Borje Ekholm took over as CEO in 2017.
He has focused on restructuring and refocusing the business after Ericsson branched out into multimedia in the early part of the 2000s. It struggled to fit its purchases into its operations, weighing on margins and profits.
The cloud-based Vonage Communications Platform serves more than 120,000 customers and more than one million registered developers globally.
Ericsson said it expected the deal to boost earnings per share — excluding non-cash amortization impacts — and free cash flow from 2024 onwards.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to Vonage shareholder approval, regulatory approvals, and other conditions.
爱立信以 62 亿美元收购云计算公司 Vonage
斯德哥尔摩移动电信设备制造商爱立信 (ERIC) 周一表示，已同意以 62 亿美元收购云通信公司 Vonage (VG)。
这笔交易是这家瑞典公司多年来最大的一笔交易，此前该公司在 2020 年以 11 亿美元收购了美国无线网络公司 Cradlepoint。
“合并协议得到了 Vonage 董事会的一致批准，”爱立信在一份声明中说。
“该交易建立在爱立信宣布的无线企业全球扩张意图的基础上，到 2030 年，为现有客户提供价值 7000 亿美元的市场份额。”
在截至 2021 年 9 月 30 日的 12 个月期间，Vonage 的销售额为 14 亿美元，调整后的息税折旧前利润 (EBITDA) 为 14%，自由现金流为 1.09 亿美元。
此次收购标志着自 Borje Ekholm 于 2017 年接任首席执行官以来的一个新阶段。
在爱立信于 2000 年代初涉足多媒体领域后，他一直专注于重组和重新调整业务。它努力将采购纳入其运营，从而影响了利润率和利润。
基于云的 Vonage 通信平台为全球超过 120,000 名客户和超过 100 万注册开发人员提供服务。
爱立信表示，预计该交易将提高每股收益——不包括非现金摊销影响——以及从 2024 年起的自由现金流。
根据 Vonage 股东的批准、监管部门的批准和其他条件，该交易预计将于 2022 年上半年完成。
