Espresso: Zoom to acquire Five9, HCL Tech's Q1 results

Zoom to Buy Five9 in $14.7 billion deal

Video-conferencing software company Zoom Communication said it will buy California-headquartered cloud-based contact centre Five9 in an all-stock deal for around $14.7 billion.

Zoom, which grew rapidly after global lockdowns last year, seeks to enhance its enterprise offerings. Zoom can use Five9’s software to improve customer engagement by optimising “customer interactions across many different channels,” the company said in a statement.

“Enterprises communicate with their customers primarily through the contact centre,” said Eric S Yuan, CEO and Founder of Zoom, adding that the platform “will help redefine how companies of all sizes connect with their customers.”

HCL Tech to hire 20,000 freshers

IT services firm HCL Technologies posted consolidated revenue of $2.72 billion in the first quarter of financial year 2022, up 0.7 percent over the previous quarter.

The company’s net profit rose 6.4 percent sequentially to $436 million. Its operating margin was at 24.5 percent. The company’s attrition rate rose to 11.8 percent in this quarter from 9.9 percent in March 2021.

VV Apparao, Chief HR Officer of HCL Technologies, said the company plans to hire between 20,000 and 22,000 college graduates in the year, up from 14,600 it hired last year.

HCL Technologies' Board of Directors also appointed C Vijayakumar as Managing Director, as Founder Shiv Nadar stepped down from the position yesterday.

Suzuki’s electric vehicle to debut in India

Suzuki Motor will release its first all-electric vehicle by fiscal 2025, starting with India, according to a Nikkei report. India will be followed by Japan and Europe.

The automaker will sell the all-electric compact vehicle for $13,626 after taking government subsidies into account. Indian carmakers have already announced plans to release EVs at a price range similar to Suzuki's.

Suzuki has a market share of around 50 percent in India. It is already offering hybrid cars in India. Despite being the fifth-largest auto market in the world, sales of EVs in India have been slow with annual sales of 3 million units.

GTPL Hathway’s first quarter results

Leading multi-system operator GTPL Hathway reported revenue of Rs 610.6 crore in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, an increase of 22 percent over the same period last year.

Its operating profit was Rs 138 crore in the quarter, up 7 percent over the corresponding period last year. GTPL Hathway, which provides digital TV and broadband services, has a stronghold in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the Northeastern states.

In the first quarter, its base of paying subscribers stood at 7.3 million, compared to 7.2 million a year ago.

NPCI in talks to take RuPay global

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is in talks with several global agencies to expand the global footprint of indigenous payment networks RuPay and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), The Economic Times reported.

It is looking at markets like West Asia, the United States, and Europe. Some of the international agencies that NPCI is in talks with include large banks, umbrella payment companies, and fintech companies.

“We are aiming to expand RuPay and UPI acceptance across world destinations, where Indians travel for holidays, study or profession or even stay,” said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International Payments.

Robinhood eyeing $35 billion valuation

Mobile-app based online trading platform Robinhood plans to raise up to $2.3 billion in its initial public offering in the US by selling 55 million shares, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

This will take its valuation to around $35 billion. The app grew popular among young retail investors during the pandemic. With the free trading mobile app, its users can trade cryptocurrencies, stocks and options.