In a bid to enhance its communication technology offerings, Indian IT firm Persistent Systems (Persistent) announced today that it will acquire U.S. software company Starfish Associates. The deal, valued at $20.7 million (approximately Rs 173 crore), involves Persistent obtaining a 100% stake in Starfish Associates. This acquisition will enable Persistent to leverage Starfish Associates’ expertise and expand its capabilities in Contact Center and Unified Communications.
The total acquisition cost for Starfish Associates is $20.7 million. Persistent will make an upfront payment of $15.4 million (approximately Rs 130 crore) to the shareholders. This initial amount may be adjusted based on Starfish Associates’ financial situation at closing, considering factors like working capital, debt, and cash balance.
The agreement includes performance-based incentives for the sellers. If Starfish Associates meets specific targets over the next two years, the sellers can earn an additional $5.1 million. Additionally, to encourage key employees to remain, Persistent has offered them a total retention bonus of $0.2 million over the next two years.
“Renowned for its cutting-edge Enterprise Communications automation platform, Starfish Associates serves many of the world’s largest enterprises, including numerous Fortune 500 companies. Starfish Associates’ automation platform excels as an intelligent integration hub and workflow engine, facilitating seamless connections across various business applications and communication systems,” Persistent said in a statement.
The acquisition will also enhance Persistent’s communication management capabilities. Starfish Associates’ platform automates communication across various platforms, including popular ones like Amazon Connect, Avaya, Cisco, Genesys, and Microsoft Teams. This will enable Persistent to better support clients using a variety of communication tools. Furthermore, Starfish integrates with critical business applications such as ServiceNow, Workday, and Microsoft Active Directory, streamlining workflows and operations for Persistent clients.
The acquisition is expected to close within 4-6 weeks, pending standard approval processes. Once finalized, Persistent Systems Inc., USA, will become the sole owner of Starfish Associates.
“The integration of Starfish Associates’ platform significantly enhances our unified communications and contact center management offerings amid AI-led innovations disrupting the industry. This acquisition allows us to help our global clients unlock the full potential of these innovations in their contact centers,” said Sandeep Kalra, chief executive officer and executive director of Persistent.
Starfish reported LTM (last twelve months) revenue of $8.2 million as of March 31, 2024. In the previous two calendar years, 2022 and 2023, it reported revenue of $7 million each.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in New Jersey, Starfish provides solutions in the Unified Communications and Contact Center ecosystem, building an automation platform to help enterprises streamline the management of communication systems. It offers automated provisioning, self-service, resource management, and migration tools.
Robert Hankin, co-founder and partner of Starfish Associates, said, “Since our inception, Starfish Associates has been dedicated to enhancing enterprise management of unified communications and contact centers, always aiming to elevate customer and employee experiences. Joining forces with Persistent marks a new chapter for us, enhancing our capabilities in integration, automation, and AI-driven contact center transformation, while gaining access to Persistent’s strong customer base.” Following the acquisition announcement on Wednesday morning, Persistent stock reached a 52-week high of 4,596 apiece, rising over 2% on the BSE.
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 announced today that it will acquire U.S. software company Starfish Associates. The deal, valued at $20.7 million (approximately Rs 173 crore), involves Persistent obtaining a 100% stake in Starfish Associates. This acquisition will enable Persistent to leverage Starfish Associates' expertise and expand its capabilities in Contact Center and Unified Communications.){kind=link}