VMware Sells Zimbra to Telligent

Three years ago, VMware bought Zimbra, makers of a suite of open source enterprise e-mail and collaboration story. Now it has announced the sale of the business unit to Telligent, which sells social enterprise software.

William Alden with The New York Times reported, “When VMware bought Zimbra in 2010, the deal was considered integral to the company’s strategy. Three years later, it’s a different story. VMware is selling Zimbra, a provider of corporate e-mail and collaboration software, to Telligent, which makes social software for businesses, according to an announcement on Monday. The companies plan to merge under the name Zimbra to offer a ‘unified social collaboration suite.'”

PCWorld’s Juan Carlos Perez noted, “For Zimbra, it’s the second time it’s been sold since 2010, when VMware acquired it from Yahoo. Zimbra was an independent company when Yahoo bought it in 2007 for $350 million.”

The Register’s Drew Cullen added, “Telligent’s boss Patrick Brandt will run the combined business. He says the acquisition presents an opportunity to ‘return Zimbra to its roots as an independent collaboration software leader with a vibrant open source community.'”

Hannah Breeze with Channelnomics observed, “Once complete, the deal — which was for an undisclosed amount — will see VMware continue to invest in the firm as a minority stakeholder in order to ensure customer and partner continuity.”