Tekelec has acquired VocalData, a start-up offering a hosted IP telephony platform for business and residential customers, for approximately $27.5 million, consisting of $14.5 million of cash and approximately 780,000 shares of Tekelec common stock.
For fiscal year 2003, VocalData revenues were approximately $4.8 million, with gross margins of approximately 70%. Operating expenses were approximately $3.5 million per quarter.
Tekelec said it plans to leverage VocalData’s hosted IP telephony application server to provide an immediate path to IP service delivery and profitability for wireless, wireline and cable operators and their subscribers. The VocalData products will complement Tekelec’s next-generation switching product portfolio to enable advanced features such as integration with Outlook and Instant Messenger, IP Centrex with flexible call routing and treatment via customer web portals and find me/follow me capabilities. In addition, Tekelec will offer VocalData’s products and solutions as stand-alone applications to deliver advanced VoIP service options like IP PBX for legacy PBX replacement and Internet-based voice services to enterprise WAN and private VPN services.
Finally, when integrated in Tekelec’s EAGLE 5 Signaling Application System, VocalData’s solutions will provide added capabilities to deliver enhanced business and consumer voice services across circuit and packet-based networks, such as customer Web portals for feature activation across traditional phone lines. http://www.tekelec.comhttp://www.vocaldata.com
- VocalData is based in Richardson, Texas.
- In June 2004, VocalData said its application server had been installed in over 50 live VoIP networks supporting a total of over 225,000 business and residential users.
- In August, Tekelec agreed to acquire privately held Steleus Group, a real-time performance management company whose core business is to supply network-related intelligence to telecom operators, for $56 million.
- Earlier this year, Tekelec acquired Taqua, a provider of next-generation Class 5 packet switching systems, for approximately $85 million cash, plus the assumption of Taqua’s outstanding options. Taqua’s Class 5 switching solution is optimized for the small switch service provider market. A small switch is defined as serving under 5,000 lines.
- In June 2003, Tekelec completed its merger with Santera Systems, which developed an integrated voice and data switching platform for delivering Class 4/5 services, PRI offload, packet/cell switching and voice over broadband services.