Masergy serves more than 1,400 customers in nearly 100 countries. The combination of Comcast Business’s fibre network and Masergy’s services will enable Comcast Business customers to manage their international operations and networks more efficiently and securely.
Bill Stemper, president, Comcast Business, said, “Masergy provides a perfect complement to our portfolio of enterprise services and solutions and will allow us to instantly and dramatically amplify our growth in the global enterprise market. We’re excited to welcome Masergy’s employees and leadership to Comcast Business as we bring continued innovation and superior experience to our customers.”
Chris MacFarland, chairman and CEO, Masergy, added, “On behalf of everyone at Masergy, we are thrilled to join the Comcast Business family and are extremely excited for the next chapter of Masergy. We are confident that together we can significantly enhance our service offerings to businesses of all sizes in their journey to the cloud.”
Analyst firm GlobalData said the acquisition creates a threatening new competitor on the global B2B telecoms scene. Gary Barton, principal enterprise technology and services analyst at GlobalData, said, “This is a very smart acquisition by Comcast Business. Masergy has been one of the most disruptive players in the market for more than a decade. It has intelligently designed its software-defined networking infrastructure and developed an attractive collaboration services portfolio. However, much of its success has been generated by its flexible approach to customer service in terms of commercial models and service delivery.
“Comcast’s significant access network assets in the US, and to a lesser extent the UK, form the ideal partner to Masergy’s global SDN network. Masergy’s capabilities will also add credibility for Comcast in areas such as cloud and security, which will be vital in attracting multinational corporations as clients. No financial details have been released about the takeover, which remains subject to regulatory approval in the US. Comcast has also not said whether it will rebrand Masergy. What is clear is that Comcast’s more than $100bn annual revenues will allow it to invest in Masergy’s platforms in a significant way.
“Comcast Business has already invested more than $15bn since 2017 in its telecoms assets. Bringing that level of spend to Masergy will create a potent force in the global telecoms market, with strong local presence in the US and the UK. The challenge for Comcast will be to ensure that it does not stifle the flexibility and creativity that has underpinned Masergy’s recent success.”