Zoom to revisit Five9 acquisition after prior bid fails

Video conferencing giant Zoom is said to be exploring a new acquisition attempt of contact centre software maker Five9

Zoom and Five9 are reportedly considering having another go at an acquisition more than two years after Zoom's failed $14.7bn bid.

Zoom, the California-based communications tool vendor, has held acquisition discussions with Five9, which is working with advisers, according to a Bloomberg report.

Five9, a contact centre software vendor also based in California, will likely attract other potential buyers.

CRN has reached out to Five9 and Zoom for comment.

Zoom makes another Five9 purchase attempt?

Five9 has about 950 channel partners worldwide and 700 in North America, according to CRN's 2023 Channel Chiefs.

Zoom did not disclose its number of partners in CRN's 2023 Channel Chiefs, but it did say 32 per cent of overall sales come through the channel.

In 2022, the company said it had over 8,500 partners worldwide.

In October, Zoom's channel chief, Todd Surdey, told CRN that the vendor wants to lean more heavily on channel partners of various business models.

In 2021, Zoom's $14.7bn offer for Five9 was voted down by the latter's shareholders.

Both vendors reported quarterly earnings in November.

Zoom brought in about $1.1bn during the quarter, up 3.5 per cent year-over-year ignoring foreign exchange.

Enterprise revenue was $660.6m, up 7.5 per cent year-over-year.

Operating margin using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was 14.9 per cent.

Five9 reported $230.1m for its third quarter, up 16 per cent year-over-year.

GAAP gross margin was 51.7 per cent for the quarter.

GAAP net loss was $20.4m, an improvement of about 12 per cent over the prior year.

Five9's stock traded at about $86 a share after hours Monday, up about 8 per cent from market close Friday.

Zoom's stock traded at about $68 a share after hours Monday, down about 4 per cent from market close Friday.