By Gillian Tan And Dana Cimilluca
Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. is in talks with
potential buyers for a deal that could value the call-center
software provider at more than $3.5 billion including debt.
The talks, with private-equity firms and other technology
companies, are at an early stage, according to people familiar with
the matter. They may not lead to a deal.
"Like any fast-growing company, we receive indications of
interest from time to time," a Genesys spokesman said. He declined
to comment further on the matter.
Genesys software helps orchestrate more than 100 million digital
and voice interactions daily for customers including AT&T Inc.
and Citigroup Inc. Private-equity firm Permira acquired a
controlling stake in Daly City, Calif.-based Genesys in February
2012 from telecommunications-equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA.
That deal valued Genesys at $1.5 billion.
Genesys has since made several smaller acquisitions, including
that of Echopass Corp., a provider of cloud-based contact products
and services, according to S&P Capital IQ.
In February, Genesys said it had revenue of $850 million in
2014, a 15% increase from the prior year, driven by demand for its
cloud products.
Private-equity firms have recently stepped up their buying and
selling of software companies, which are able to take on relatively
high levels of debt due to the recurring nature of their cash
flows. Last month, Permira agreed to purchase data-software maker
Informatica Corp. in the year's largest buyout so far, while Vista
Equity Partners agreed to sell a controlling stake in
security-software company Websense Inc. to Raytheon Co. A month
earlier, Bain Capital LLC agreed to buy security-software
companyBlue Coat Systems Inc. from fellow private-equity firm Thoma
Bravo LLC.
Write to Gillian Tan at gillian.tan@wsj.com and Dana Cimilluca
at dana.cimilluca@wsj.com
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