Genesys to buy Interactive Intelligence in $1.4bn deal

Omnichannel software firm Genesys has agreed to buy cloud company Interactive Intelligence in a deal valued at around $1.4bn.

Under the terms of the transaction, Interactive shareholders will receive $60.50 per share in cash, which represents a premium of about 36% to the unaffected closing price on 28 July, the last trading day before media reports that Interactive was considering strategic alternatives.

Genesys plans to fund the transaction through a combination of existing cash on hand and debt financing.

The company said the deal will accelerate its ability to “execute on its mission of powering the world’s best customer experiences at scale, anytime, anywhere – over any channel, in the cloud and on-premise.”

Genesys chief executive officer Paul Segre said: ““This is a milestone transaction that combines industry-leading expertise and capabilities to enable lasting customer relationships, accelerate innovation and drive growth.

“Our combined product portfolio will provide the broadest set of transformative customer experience solutions optimised for customers of all sizes and sophistication levels, available both in the cloud and on-premise”.”

The deal, which has been unanimously approved by Interactive’s board of directors and Genesys’ operating committee, is expected to close by the end of the year.