Grant Felton_April 16, 2020, 9:01 AM PT
The writing is on the wireless industry wall: jump into the virtual meeting game or get left behind. That was the message on Thursday when Verizon acquired video conferencing company BlueJeans.
Although there’s no price confirmed on the deal, there is some chatter on Wall Street that the deal may have been completed for as much as $400 million. That’s a lot of money to spend in the middle of a major economic downturn unless of course, you think that remote work and virtual meetings are the near and long-term future of business.
According to Verizon CEO, Hans Vestberg, who joined CNBC after the deal’s announcement, the wireless giant has been working on the deal for about a year. Just one day before the deal was announced, Vestberg shared a bit about his meeting with the U.S. government regarding establishing a new normal for business.
BlueJeans has been a video conference standard-bearer for years, often showing up in company conference rooms when large teams based in various locations need to hold seamless internal business meetings securely. Packages for the service start at $120 per year ($9.99 per month) for virtual meetings that can host up to 50 participants.
“As the way we work continues to change, it is absolutely critical for businesses and public sector customers to have access to a comprehensive suite of offerings that are enterprise ready, secure, frictionless and that integrate with existing tools,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business, in a statement.
“Collaboration and communications have become top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors in recent months. We are excited to combine the power of BlueJeans’ video platform with Verizon Business’ connectivity networks, platforms, and solutions to meet our customers’ needs.”
Cover image via BlueJeans/YouTube