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Tag: John Chambers

  • Cisco sells set-top-box biz to Technicolor for $600 million

    Cisco sells set-top-box biz to Technicolor for $600 million

    MUMBAI: Cisco has sold its set-top-box (STB) business to Technicolor for $600 million in a cash and stock transaction.

     

    The board of directors of the two companies will review the deal, which will be on a cash free, debt free basis.

     

    Under the terms of the agreement, upon the closing of the transaction, Cisco will receive approximately $450 million in cash and approximately $150 million in newly issued Technicolor shares, subject to certain adjustments provided for in the agreement.

     

    The acquisition should result in Technicolor’s connected home segment reaching adjusted EBITDA in excess of $219 million by year end 2016 and best-in-class profitability by 2017. The transaction will also translate into double-digit EPS accretion at Group level starting in the first full year after closing.

     

    Simultaneously to the acquisition, Technicolor and Cisco will enter into a strategic partnership that will allow both companies to develop and deliver next generation video and broadband technologies, with cooperation on Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services. The strategic agreement will provide ongoing commitment to all existing customers and expand offerings.

     

    By combining their strengths and leading video expertise, from content creation to in-home delivery, the two companies will accelerate innovation and forge a leading entity that network service providers can rely on for their next generation connected home experiences.

     

    Technicolor and Cisco also have signed a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement that covers specific intellectual property and patents from both companies. As part of the deal and after the transaction has closed of Cisco senior vice president and chief strategy officer Hilton Romanski, will join Technicolor’s Board of Directors.

     

    Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose said, “We know that video expertise is essential to the future of creating outstanding network and home infrastructure products and services. Through this acquisition and strategic agreement, Technicolor can immediately bring its unrivalled experience and innovation in video creation, delivery, and display to more customers in more geographies, while strengthening our position as a technology leader.”

     

    “The strategic relevance of video to every consumer, business, city and country around the world is only growing, and the market is moving rapidly. This is the right time and we have the right company in Technicolor to drive the future of the CPE business to deliver what our customers and partners need, today and into the future. At Cisco, we are prioritizing our investments to deliver on our strategy of video in the cloud, and will partner with Technicolor to position the CPE business and employees for future success,” added Cisco CEO and chairman John Chambers.

     

    The $452 million cash portion of the consideration will be financed through cash-on-hand and fully-underwritten new debt with an anticipated limited impact on Technicolor’s leverage position.

  • Chuck Robbins takes over as Cisco CEO

    Chuck Robbins takes over as Cisco CEO

    NEW DELHI: Telecom vendor Cisco has appointed an insider, Chuck Robbins as its chief executive officer. 

     

    The policy of upgrading an insider is very much like that adopted by Microsoft, which had taken Indian born Satya Nadella for the top job. Robbins will take over the CEO position from John Chambers, who led the rise of Cisco for the last 20 years. Chambers will assume the role of executive chairman on 26 July.

     

    Robbins, who joined Cisco in 1997, knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography.

     

    Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said, “Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco, and disrupting what needs to change.”

     

    He recently served as Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, leading the company’s global sales and partner team that drives $47 billion in business for the company. He was formerly Cisco’s senior vice president of the Americas.

     

    He has helped lead and execute many of the company’s investments and strategy shifts, including building the industry’s most powerful partner programme, now worth more than $40 billion in revenue to the company each year.

     

    He was also a key architect of the company’s strategy for the commercial business segment, which grew eight per cent year-over-year last quarter, and now represents 25 per cent of Cisco’s total business. He has sponsored the security and collaboration businesses at the executive level and was a sponsor for the Sourcefire and Meraki acquisitions.

     

    As a member of the team that has led Cisco’s transformation over the more than three years, Robbins has driven the reinvention of Cisco’s sales organization, cementing its place as the envy of the industry. But the growth of Cisco in the last two years was not impressive due to tough market conditions.

     

    Chambers has served as CEO of Cisco since January 1995, having joined the company in 1991 as the head of sales. He has grown the company from $1.2 billion in annual revenue to its current run rate of $48 billion.

     

    According to a Cisco release, Robbins was also elected to the Board of Directors of Cisco, effective 1 May. 

     

    “This is the perfect time for Chuck Robbins to become Cisco’s next chief executive officer. We’ve selected a very strong leader at a time when Cisco is in a very strong position,” said Chambers.

     

    He added, “Today’s pace of change is exponential. Every company, city and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco’s role in the digital transformation has never been more important. Chuck is unique in his ability to translate vision and strategy into world-class execution, bringing together teams and ecosystems to drive results. Chuck knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. He is a champion of the Cisco culture and has an incredible ability to inspire, energize, and connect with employees, partners, customers and global leaders. Chuck’s vision, strategy and execution track record is exactly what Cisco needs as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last.”

     

    “I joined Cisco 17 years ago because I wanted to be a part of a company where I believed the possibilities were limitless. Today, I am even more convinced that Cisco is that company,” said Robbins. “Over the past 20 years, John Chambers’ vision and leadership have built Cisco into one of the most important companies in the world; a company fiercely committed to delivering for its customers, shareholders, partners, and employees. The opportunity that lies ahead for Cisco is enormous, and the ability to lead this next chapter is deeply humbling and incredibly exhilarating. I am focused on accelerating the innovation and execution that our customers need from us. Their success will continue to drive us. At a time when our industry is on the cusp of more disruption than we’ve ever encountered, I couldn’t be more confident in our ability to win, or more honored to lead this great company.”

  • Digitisation: Cisco ships 1.3 mn STBs to India in Q4

    Digitisation: Cisco ships 1.3 mn STBs to India in Q4

    MUMBAI: Cisco, which acquired NDS, has won a significant standard definition (SD) set-top box business in India for the quarter ending January, benefitting from India‘s move towards mandatory digitisation.

    Cisco shipped 1.3 million boxes in the fourth quarter compared with 850,000 in the trailing three-month period, with a large portion of the increase coming from India.

    Cisco CEO John Chambers remarked that the company has “been more selective in the business we are taking in terms of set-top boxes and the lowest margin set-top box business in particular.”

    “Cisco has been able to retain attractive margins delivering set-top boxes in India because the engagements are based on end-to-end services. These engagements include Cisco headend equipment (notably, cable modem terminations or CMTS), middle ware, and conditional access systems in addition to the set-top boxes,” comments Sam Rosen, practice director at ABI Research.

    ABI Research‘s Set-Top Box Database has provided further details.

    Chinese set-top box manufacturers ChangHong and Jiuzhou surged in unit shipments in the third quarter of 2012 and together grew 66 per cent sequentially to nearly 5 million units from 3 million in the prior quarter. The tracked market grew approximately 10 per cent worldwide.

    ChangHong serves primarily the Asian markets, while Jiuzhou has more of a mix of domestic and international business.

    “Asian market strength within the set-top box sector is no surprise. North American and Western European markets are largely flat as Asian markets grow and African markets are expected to open up in the next few years,” continues Rosen.

    “Western manufacturers are using end-to-end strategies, as shown by Cisco, while Asian manufacturers are operating at lower margins and aiming to compete on price within low-ARPU Asian markets.”