The News: HP Inc. announced that they are acquiring Poly to bolster their hybrid work offerings. The acquisition is an all-cash deal valued at $3.3 billion, which includes Poly’s net debt. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2022. Read the full Press Release here.
HP Acquires Poly for $3.3 Billion
Analyst Take: HP’s acquisition of Poly is not a surprising move. For years, HP has been flirting with collaboration tech and now with the shift to hybrid work here to stay, this move will allow the company to further expand into this burgeoning marketspace.
While specifics around how HP will use Poly are still unknown, it’s likely that the devices maker will leverage its global reach and strategic channels to improve the retail access of Poly’s products. We might eventually see a meeting technology bundle where HP would package a laptop, a microphone, camera, and services to help employees connect with ease no matter where they are working from. At the same time, we could see bigger bundles for the enterprise spaces. There is a lot of potential here for HP to take advantage of.
How Poly Wins Too
This acquisition is also a great move for Poly, which under the leadership of Dave Schull, has positioned itself as one of the market leaders for unified collaboration for individuals and enterprises. Poly’s partnerships with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and others have continued to spur demand of its product portfolio — especially now, as more organizations are re-evaluating their current meeting spaces.
But despite the notable growth over the last few years, Poly, like many other companies, has been plagued by supply chain issues. This move will likely provide Poly with the support it needs to mitigate those issues and meet customer demand.
Unknowns Remain, but Deal is Meaningful
While we don’t yet know if Poly products will be rebranded or if they will remain a separate entity under the HP umbrella, the potential opportunities here are immense as the deal will help both organizations in meaningful ways. Poly’s product suite will fit nicely with HP’s current offerings and will continue to enable the devices company to advance in the hybrid work space, where growth opportunities remain high. We will keep watch as the deal progresses this year and more details come to light, but for now, I’m intrigued by how this will change the market.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
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The original version of this article was first published on Futurum Research.
Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.