Industry sources rumored that Polycom Inc. (PLCM), the largest manufacturers of unified collaborative solutions, is likely to be privatized soon. Apax Partners, a London-based private equity company is negotiating with Polycom from last November and may place a formal offer to purchase Polycom by the end of this month. 

After Cisco System Inc’s (CSCO) decision to purchase Tandbarg TV of Norway, Polycom remains the only pure play unified collaborative solutions provider which is yet to collaborate with another company. Industry sources predicted that Apax may offer $37 per share purchase price for Polycom, which will raise the total valuation of the company to more than $3 billion. Cisco offered $3.4 billion to acquire Tandbarg TV which awaits regulatory approval. 

We believe, in the long-run, the videoconferencing solutions market will see healthy demand as a result of several positive industry trends, including globalization and the proliferation of branch offices; concerns about time demand and high cost of travel; homeland security and other government initiatives; as well as distance learning and healthcare applications. According to Gartner Inc, the video conferencing market will grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 17.8% between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to reach $8.6 billion. 

Recently, Polycom entered into a partnership with network equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) to jointly sell and manage video services. The joint venture will deliver an intelligent service provider solutions based on dynamic signaling between the Juniper resource control platform and the polycom call control system. This new product will be available from mid-2010. 

Additionally, Polycom has business agreements with leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and resellers in the telecom industry. Current partnerships include agreements with Avaya, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), IBM Corp. (IBM), Siemens AG (SI), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), and BT Group Plc. (BT).
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