8x8, the hosted VoIP provider, is considering a potential company sale, according to Reuters. 8X8 has been working with Morgan Stanley to field interest from other companies and private equity firms, the report said, though a sale isn't guaranteed.
8x8 competes in the growing but crowded market for cloud-oriented IP phone systems and unified communications. Multiple Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) companies have been acquired over the past year, including GoDaddy's buyout of FreedomVoice.
Rival ShoreTel also has been seeking a potential buyer since August 2016. And Avaya, which is trying to overcome a major debt load while transitioning from hardware sales, is currently navigating a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The potential competitive threats continue to rise, especially as Amazon's AWS Chime counters Microsoft Skype and Cisco WebEx in the collaboration space.
8x8 Is Growing
Still, business over at 8x8 is growing -- and many of the sales involve channel partners. For its Q3 ended December 31, 2016, 8x8 reported:
- Service revenue grew 23% year-over-year to $60.1 million.
- Service revenue from mid-market and enterprise customers grew 36% year-over-year and represented 55% of the company's total service revenue.
- New monthly recurring revenue (MRR) sold to mid-market and enterprise customers and by channel sales teams accounted for 60% of total new MRR booked in the quarter.
At the time, 8x8 maintained its guidance for fiscal 2017 revenue in the range of $251.0 million to $254.0 million. The company also raised non-GAAP net income guidance to a range of $18.0 to $20.0 million, from previously issued non-GAAP net income guidance in the range of $16.0 million to $20.0 million.
8x8 and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. ChannelE2E has followed up with additional outreach to 8x8, but received no reply
