HP announced Monday that it has signed off on a definitive agreement to acquire phone and accessories specialist Poly for $40 per share, or $3.3 billion, which represents the latter’s enterprise value, including debt.
According to HP, the deal accelerates its strategy to create a more growth-oriented portfolio and strengthens its position for providing hybrid work solutions, in addition to paving the way for long-term sustainable growth and value creation.
The manufacturer noted that roughly 75% of office workers are investing to improve their home office environments while traditional office spaces are being reconfigured to support hybrid work and collaboration, particularly meeting room solutions. HP cited a study that indicates of the estimated 90 million meeting rooms, less than 10% have video capability, with solutions for that segment expected to triple by 2024.
“The rise of the hybrid office creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the way work gets done,” said Enrique Lores, president and CEO of HP. “Combining HP and Poly creates a leading portfolio of hybrid work solutions across large and growing markets. Poly’s strong technology, complementary go-to-market, and talented team will help to drive long-term profitable growth as we continue building a stronger HP.”
Dave Shull, Poly CEO and president, added: “I am thrilled about the opportunity this represents for Poly, our employees, partners and customers. The combination gives us an opportunity to dramatically scale, reaching new markets and channels, supercharging our innovation with a like-minded partner. This transaction offers compelling and certain value for our shareholders and speaks to the hard work done by our teams to become a recognized leader in helping businesses everywhere meet the challenges of a generational disruption in the way people work.”
Poly will help drive the growth and scale of HP’s peripherals and workforce solutions businesses. Peripherals represent a $110 billion segment opportunity growing 9% annually, driven by the need for more immersive experiences. Workforce solutions represent a $120 billion segment opportunity that is growing 8% annually, as companies invest in digital services to set up, manage, and secure more distributed IT ecosystems. Poly’s devices, software and services, combined with HP’s strengths across compute, device management, and security, create a robust portfolio of hybrid meeting solutions.
Poly is a leader in video conferencing solutions, cameras, headsets, voice and software. Together, HP and Poly will deliver a complete ecosystem of devices, software, and digital services to create premium employee experiences, improve workforce productivity, and provide enterprise customers with better visibility, insights, security, and manageability across their hybrid IT environments.
###
About HP Inc.
HP Inc. is a technology company that believes one thoughtful idea has the power to change the world. Its product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions helps bring these ideas to life.
About Poly
Poly (NYSE: POLY) creates premium audio and video products so you can have your best meeting — anywhere, anytime, every time. Our headsets, video and audio-conferencing products, desk phones, analytics software and services are beautifully designed and engineered to connect people with incredible clarity. They’re pro-grade, easy to use and work seamlessly with all the best video and audio-conferencing services. Poly MeetingAI delivers a broadcast-quality video conferencing experience with Poly DirectorAI technology which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver real-time automatic transitions, framing and tracking, while NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence technologies block out unwanted background noise. With Poly (Plantronics Inc., formerly Plantronics and Polycom), you’ll do more than just show up, you’ll stand out.
