Telecom Lead America: Polycom will sell its enterprise
wireless voice solutions business to Sun Capital Partners’ affiliate for $110
million in cash.
Polycom’s enterprise wireless voice portfolio is part of the
UC personal product category. It includes Wi-Fi and DECT handsets, related
infrastructure and accessories. The business had sales of $94 million in 2011.
The sale of enterprise wireless voice solutions business is
part of Polycom’s long-term strategies. Polycom has evolved over the last 18-24
months, and taken actions designed to lead the video collaboration market
through traditional and new delivery platforms including mobile, social and
cloud.
The sale of our wireless handset business is a further step
toward focusing our product and technology portfolio on our core unified
communications and video collaboration solutions, including extending the reach
of the Polycom RealPresence Platform,” said Andy Miller, president and CEO of
Polycom.
After this transaction, Polycom will focus on initiatives
that support its vision of making video collaboration ubiquitous through open,
standards-based software delivered to anyone, across any environment and
device.
The divestment of the enterprise wireless voice solutions
business will allow Polycom to focus on the higher gross margins of Polycom’s unified
communications business.
This is a good and not surprising move for Polycom, as it
allows them to concentrate their energy and resources on the core, strategic
components of their business in order to drive further innovation and adoption
of video collaboration,” said Rich Costello, IDC senior research analyst.
This is a logical next step for our business and a
strategic decision that should enable the wireless voice organization to
flourish as a standalone company. Polycom has selected Sun Capital because of
its commitment to support Polycom’s wireless handset partners and customers, as
well as its strong operational expertise, particularly in corporate
divestitures that require seamless transfers of significant business operations,”
Miller added.
