BroadSoft said Thursday (Jan. 18) that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have given antitrust clearance for the company's pending acquisition by Cisco Systems.
The clearance grants early termination of the waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Broadsoft said.
The green light comes almost three months after Cisco announced its proposal to acquire BroadSoft, a maker of cloud calling and contact center products, for $1.9 billion cash.
RELATED: Cisco to Buy BroadSoft
The boards of Cisco and BroadSoft have approved the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2018.
BroadSoft has scheduled a Special Meeting of Stockholders for Jan. 25, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. ET to vote on the proposed deal.
Cisco believes the acquisition will bolster its Unified Communications business and help it address “millions of aging TDM lines” that are poised to pivot to IP technology and cloud-native solutions in the years ahead.
BroadSoft works with several MSOs, including Cox Communications, Charter Communications, and Comcast, to deliver hosted-voice services to business customers.
Once the deal is closed, BroadSoft is expected to continue to operate as a separate company while also becoming part of Cisco's Unified Communications Technology Group.
