Is Oracle Hungry for BroadSoft?

With its recent M&A moves in mind, the markets are trying to guess Oracle’s next target. And it does seem likely there will be a next target, since integrating Acme Packet and Tekelec doesn’t add up to an endgame just yet. The lucky company annointed by analysts as the one with the biggest bullseye on its back appears to be BroadSoft, and I’ve got to admit it makes a lot of sense.

Take session border controllers, signaling, policy control, and subscriber data management and it all adds up to serving the VoIP community with everything but an actual cloud-based UCV and VoIP application platform. So when one looks for such a provider with extensive relationships with carriers around the world, limited legacy baggage, the patents to back it up, and solid financials, BroadSoft just jumps right off the page.  Oracle+Acme Packet+Tekelec+BroadSoft would be an immediate force to be reckoned with in supplying the next generation of cloud-powered UC across next generation networks and devices.

Of course, there’s been no indication that BroadSoft is interested in a deal. But as a public company it’s just a matter of price, and if Oracle wants it enough they could certainly afford to make BroadSoft an offer that shareholders won’t refuse. They took a big hit with Q4 earnings due to weaker than expected forward guidance, although the stock has recovered about half of what it lost since then.  But when it comes to life as an M&A target, they should be negotiating from a position of strength.  In fact, the possibility that Oracle might be interested might well bring other bidders out of the shadows.

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · VoIP