Cisco Buys Webex, But Does The Software Work?

March 15, 2007 by Douglas A. McIntyre

The news is already everywhere that Cisco (CSCO) is buying web videoconferencing company Webex (WEBX) for $3.2 billion. Webex shares are up 22% to  $56.50 on the news.

But, how good is the Webex technology? Webex is not really growing very fast for a successful company. Revenue in 2006 was $380 million compared to $308 million in 2005. Net income was down slightly to $48.6 million from $53 million in 2005.

TechCrunch makes the observation that Webex software is "expensive and bulky". The tech news site also points out that Webex has a number of competitors, many with better products.

Cisco is paying a big multiple for a company that may not have the best products in its field.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.

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