Business intelligence software developer Verint Systems announced the acquisition of customer experience management software specialist Kana Software for $514 million in cash, and is expected to be complete in Verint’s first fiscal quarter ending April 30.
The hope behind the deal is that the combination would enable organizations to use intelligence to uncover trends and discover why certain employee and customer behavior is occurring.
By fusing advanced customer service suites from Kana with Verint Actionable Intelligence, organizations would be able to connect and optimize multiple channels. Kana would bring its approximately 900 global customers to the greater Verint organization.
Verint solutions help enable organizations to collect and analyze large volumes of voice, video and unstructured text in both the enterprise intelligence market and the security intelligence market, where Verint services enable security organizations to leverage big data to enhance security and prevent terrorism and crime.
The company’s solutions are also deployed in contact centers, customer sales and service operations, and financial compliance environments, among others.
“We believe that acquiring Kana would allow Verint to offer a holistic customer engagement strategy powered by Actionable Intelligence, providing significant value for our customers and partners,” Dan Bodner, Verint’s CEO, said in a statement. “Our complementary solutions represent a comprehensive offering to help optimize customer engagement. We have been impressed with Kana and share a common vision for our respective markets, including a firm commitment to our customers.”
The merger of the two companies would help address these challenges posed by making large volumes of data actionable through a blend of software and services that span workforce optimization (WFO) and customer service and support offerings.
Verint currently offers WFO and customer analytics capabilities, including voice recording, voice biometrics, quality monitoring, speech analytics, text analytics, enterprise feedback management, workforce management, performance management, desktop and process analytics, e-learning and coaching.
Kana, in turn, offers customer service solutions such as agent desktop, case management, knowledge management, and email, chat and social media response management.
According to a September report from TEKsystems Global Services, more than 80 percent of IT leaders and 77 percent of IT professionals surveyd said they believe there is a significant shortage of workers with the skills required to plan, execute and take advantage of the potential of big data projects, and more than half of organizations are already feeling the squeeze.
“Our management team is excited about the opportunity to join a global technology leader like Verint, and we have every expectation that our customers will be excited as well, especially as they learn more about how Verint and Kana can provide a lens into who is doing what, when, how and why in day-to-day engagements with their customers,” Mark Duffell, CEO of Kana, said in a statement.
The acquisition is to be financed through a combination of cash on hand and debt, using approximately $100 million of Verint’s cash, approximately $300 million from incremental term loans (on terms similar to Verint’s existing term loans), and the balance from Verint’s un-drawn revolving credit facility.