Benzinga | Dec 1, 2021 08:08AM EST

8x8 To Buy Fuze In $250M In Stock, Cash

8x8, Inc. (NYSE:EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform provider, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fuze, a leader in cloud-based communications for the enterprise. Under the terms of the agreement, 8x8 will acquire Fuze for approximately $250 million in stock and cash, subject to certain adjustments. The acquisition will accelerate 8x8 XCaaS(tm) (eXperience Communications as a Service(tm)) innovation and expand 8x8's enterprise customer base and global presence. The transaction is expected to close during 8x8's fourth fiscal quarter, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

"The migration to cloud-based communications and engagement is accelerating as organizations worldwide shift to hybrid work models, creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity," said Dave Sipes, CEO at 8x8. "Our XCaaS strategy is defining and shaping the future of the cloud communications industry as we drive innovation to help our customers meet their changing business requirements. The acquisition of Fuze expands our operational scale and extends our global presence as we meet enterprise demand for our XCaaS integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solution."

Fuze has global operations dedicated to a seamless customer experience between unified communications and contact center. Acquiring Fuze will further support innovation and development of 8x8 XCaaS, a single-vendor, integrated Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solution.

"Enterprise customers recognize the importance of an integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solution. 8x8's industry-leading XCaaS solution for an integrated employee and customer experience enables customers to advance their cloud transformation efforts as they move off legacy on-premises systems," said Brian Day, CEO of Fuze. "Combining resources and expertise with 8x8 is a natural fit, bringing with it needed scale and accelerating the pace of product innovation with differentiated solutions that capitalize on this massive opportunity, all of which will serve to benefit our enterprise customer base."

The acquisition will deliver strong value to customers, employees, partners, and stakeholders by:

* Accelerating the XCaaS platform advantage with dramatically increased resources for research and development, engineering, and support.

* Expanding the enterprise customer base and global presence, especially in continental Europe.

* Providing significant cross-sell opportunities with 8x8's omnichannel contact center and CPaaS capabilities to support enterprise customer engagement efforts.

Both 8x8 and Fuze are uniquely recognized in the marketplace. 8x8 was recently named a Leader and Fuze a Visionary in the 2021 Gartner(r) Magic Quadrant(tm) for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide. This was the tenth consecutive year 8x8 was recognized as a Leader. 8x8 was also named a Challenger in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service for the seventh consecutive year.

Transaction Terms and Financial Impact

* Approximately $250 million in aggregate consideration, subject to certain adjustments, composed of approximately $130 million in cash and $120 million in common stock of 8x8.

* Up to $130.2 million will be used to retire Fuze's debt and pay for the equity owned by non-accredited stockholders of Fuze.

* 8x8 expects to file a resale registration statement for the shares to be issued in connection with the transaction after the closing.

8x8 expects to remain non-GAAP profitable after the transaction closes.

Conference Call and Webcast

8x8 will host a conference call today, December 1, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (5:30 a.m. Pacific time) to discuss the announcement. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing 844-200-6205 (domestic) or 646-904-5544 (international) and providing passcode 041014.

A live audio webcast of the call can be accessed from the Investor Relations section of the company's website at https://investors.8x8.com. An archived version of the webcast will be available at the same website shortly after the conclusion of the live event.