Citrix buys Grasshopper to strengthen cloud-based comms for SMBs

Software company Citrix has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Grasshopper Group, a provider of cloud-based telephony solutions for small businesses.

Grasshopper offers a cloud-based communications suite for corporates. The Grasshopper system requires no hardware or software. It works like a traditional phone system, but is all managed online or by phone.

In a statement, the company says closing of the acquisition is subject to certain government consents and other closing conditions. The company expects that the deal will close in the second quarter of 2015.   The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Citrix says the Grasshopper acquisition will help the company expand its cloud-based collaboration offerings for SMEs.    "With the acquisition we expand the breadth of our communication and collaboration solutions for small businesses, including GoToMeeting, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, ShareFile and OpenVoice," says Chris Battles, vice president at Citix.

Don Schiavone, chief operating officer at Grasshopper, says, "Our team shares the same vision and culture as Citrix, making Citrix the perfect home as we accelerate Grasshopper's growth.

"This transaction will allow Grasshopper to align itself with a well-respected leader in collaboration solutions for small businesses.

Citrix, founded in 1989, is a multinational software company founded in 1989 that provides server, application and desktop virtualisation, networking, software-as-a-service, and cloud computing technologies. Citrix partners with over 10,000 companies worldwide in more than 100 countries, including New Zealand.