Cisco has announced that it will acquire cloud calling and contact centre solutions provider BroadSoft for $1.9 billion (£1.43bn) net of cash.

The acquisition of BroadSoft will not only augment Cisco’s commitment to unified communications but also intensify its capacity to address the large number of old TDM (time division multiplexing) lines poised to transition to IP technology and cloud native solutions in the future.

Rowan Trollope, SVP and general manager of the Cisco applications business group, said: "Together, Cisco and BroadSoft will deliver a robust suite of collaboration capabilities across every market segment. We believe that our combined offers, from Cisco's collaboration technology for enterprises to BroadSoft's suite for small and medium businesses delivered through service providers will give customers more choice and flexibility."

Michael Tessler, president and CEO of BroadSoft, said: "As businesses continue to move toward the cloud in search of simplicity and speed, joining Cisco will allow us to deliver best-in-class collaboration tools and services. BroadSoft's hosted offerings, sold through the Service Providers and aimed at small and medium businesses are highly complementary to Cisco's on-premises and enterprise-centric HCS offerings. Together, we can inspire teams to create, collaborate and perform in ways never before imagined."

The board of directors of both the companies have approved the acquisition, which is anticipated to come to an end during Q1 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review. After the transaction is complete, BroadSoft employees will join Cisco's unified communications technology group, but until then both companies will operate as separate entities.