Cisco Systems Inc. continued its buying spree Wednesday by purchasing WebLine Communications, a provider of customer management software for e-commerce companies.
Cisco (CSCO) will exchange $325 million in stock for all outstanding stock in WebLine. The deal is expected to close by the second quarter of next year. It has already been approved by the boards of both companies and will next face a shareholder vote.
Cisco said the purchase is a continuation of its efforts to bundle voice, video and data on a single platform. WebLine markets a variety of Web collaboration and e-mail management tools. Its software allows two-way sharing of data on Web pages, forms, applications or voice calls using a standard Web browser.
The software synchronizes the Web content of customers and support personnel allowing them to collaborate to solve problems. The e-mail management tools allow companies to effectively track customer e-mails.
Cisco plans to integrate WebLine’s tools with the distributed call products distributed by GeoTel, which it acquired earlier this year.
