HP Inc, has completed the acquisition of Poly, a leading global provider of workplace collaboration solutions.
The deal is expected to accelerate HP’s strategy to create a more growth-oriented portfolio, further strengthen its industry opportunity in hybrid work solutions, and position the combined organization for long-term sustainable growth and value creation.
HP expects the transaction, first announced in March, to be accretive to revenue, non-GAAP operating profit and non-GAAP EPS in FY23 post-merger.
“This is a historic day for our business as we mark the union of two iconic companies that are innovating at the heart of hybrid work,” said Enrique Lores, President and CEO of HP. “Poly brings incredibly strong talent, differentiated technology, and a complementary go-to-market system that we believe will further strengthen our position in large and growing markets. Together, we will have vast opportunities to innovate for customers and grow our business as we continue building a stronger HP.”
The merger of HP and Poly comes as businesses and their employees are focused on finding better ways to work and collaborate in the hybrid world. Approximately 75% of office workers are investing to improve their home setups1. Traditional office spaces are also being reconfigured to support hybrid work and collaboration, with a focus on meeting room solutions. Currently, there are more than 90 million rooms, of which less than 10% have video capability2. As a result, the office meeting room solutions segment is expected to triple by 2024.
Poly brings industry-leading video conferencing solutions, cameras, headsets, voice and software to HP, allowing customers to create meeting equity between those in the room and those who aren’t.
The combined organization will deliver a complete ecosystem of devices, software, and digital services to create premium employee experiences, improve workforce productivity, and provide enterprise customers with better visibility, insights, security, and manageability across their hybrid IT environments.
“As ideas around the role of the traditional office continue to shift, there is a critical need for organizations to enable rich collaboration experiences between in-person and remote workers,” said Patrick Moorhead, CEO and chief analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy. “Combining Poly and HP is a win-win for both organizations. More importantly, uniting these two companies will provide end-users with the essential hardware, software, and services required to successfully navigate hybrid work experiences now and into the future.”
The addition of Poly will help HP to drive innovation and scale in two of its key growth areas: peripherals and workforce solutions.
Peripherals represent a $110 billion segment opportunity growing 9% annually, driven by the need for more immersive experiences. Workforce solutions represent a $120 billion segment opportunity that is growing 8% annually, as companies invest in digital services to set up, manage, and secure more distributed IT ecosystems.
With the transaction completed, Poly CEO Dave Shull will join HP as President, Workforce Services & Solutions, starting November 1. Shull will lead the newly formed organization focused on driving a more expansive growth agenda across HP’s commercial services business.
He brings extensive global experience spanning technology, digital media, operational transformation, and business development to the role. Shull will join the HP executive leadership team and report to Lores.
Andy Rhodes will run the combined HP-Poly business as General Manager, Hybrid Work Solutions & Peripherals. Rhodes, who joined HP in 2018, has previously led the company’s commercial Personal Systems business and built the global peripherals organization. Prior to HP, he held a number of senior executive roles at Dell. Rhodes will continue to report to HP Personal Systems President, Alex Cho.
HP completed the deal as an all-cash transaction of $40 per share, implying a total enterprise value of approximately $3.3 billion, inclusive of Poly’s net debt.
The transaction was financed through a combination of balance sheet cash and new debt.
