HP Acquires Santa Cruz-Based Videoconferencing Firm For $3.3B

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Hewlett Packard on Monday announced a deal to acquire Poly, a Santa Cruz-based workplace communications firm. In an all-cash transaction, HP paid $40 a share, for a total of $3.3 billion, HP said in a Monday news release.

Poly is a leading manufacturer of video conferencing solutions, cameras, headsets, and voice recognition software. Under the new partnership, HP and Poly will collaborate on a number of digital workplace 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.”

“The rise of the hybrid office creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the way work gets done,” Enrique Lores, President and CEO of HP, said in a statement. “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.”

“I am thrilled about the opportunity this represents for Poly, our employees, partners and customers,” Poly CEO and President Dave Shull said in a statement. 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.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022, subject to Poly stockholder approval, regulatory clearances, and other conditions.