Cisco Nears $1 Billion Takeover of Software Maker ThousandEyes

(Bloomberg) -- Cisco Systems Inc. is in advanced talks to buy software company ThousandEyes Inc. for nearly $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Cisco could announce a deal for the San Francisco-based company as soon as Thursday, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. No final decision has been made and talks could fall through, the people said.

A representative for Cisco declined to comment. A representative for ThousandEyes didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under Chief Executive Officer Charles Robbins, Cisco has made acquisitions to boost its software and services capabilities. He’s trying to lessen its dependence on one-time sales of expensive hardware and shift toward the recurring revenue and higher profitability of long-term contracts.

ThousandEyes could complement the business it’s developed around AppDynamics, which Cisco acquired in 2017. The company regularly touts the successful integration and growth of that former startup, which provides monitoring and analysis of software applications’ performance.

ThousandEyes provides so-called digital experience monitoring software, which helps companies optimize the performance of their connected devices, according to its website. The company is backed by several venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.

It has raised $110 million in financing to date and its last known valuation was $670 million last year, according to PitchBook.

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