Cisco nears deal to acquire BroadSoft for US$2bil

Cisco Systems Inc, the world’s largest networking gear manufacturer, is nearing a deal to buy U.S. telecommunications software firm BroadSoft Inc for close to $2 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The deal, which comes after Reuters first reported in August that BroadSoft was exploring a sale, would allow Cisco to further diversify away from its stagnating switches and routers business by giving it a stronger foothold in selling unified communications software to big telecommunications firms.

If deal negotiations are completed successfully, Cisco’s agreement to buy BroadSoft could be announced as early as Monday, the source said, asking not to be identified because the deal discussions are confidential.

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