Thoma Bravo buys Verint for $2B and merges Calabrio and Verint
Thoma Bravo buys Verint for $2B and merges Calabrio and Verint
The Intelligent Contact Center (ICC) market is rapidly evolving from a collection of point solutions to a battle of integrated platforms. In a move that epitomizes this trend, private equity firm Thoma Bravo has just announced a plan that will fundamentally alter the competitive landscape. The firm announced its definitive agreement today, September 1, 2025, to acquire Verint Systems and merge it with its portfolio company, Calabrio. This blog overviews this major acquisition and offers our analysis of what it means for the market.
Why Did Thoma Bravo Announce this Intelligent Contact Center Mega-Merger?
On September 1, 2025, Thoma Bravo announced its intent to purchase Verint for an enterprise value of $2 billion and combine it with Calabrio. This merger is highly strategic. Verint has long been a market leader in critical areas such as Workforce Management (WFM) and ICC automation, recently adding AI Agents to its portfolio. However, its solutions have always been complimentary to core ICC platforms, as Verint does not offer its own native contact center. By merging Verint with Calabrio, which provides a modern, cloud-native ICC platform, Thoma Bravo is creating a single, vertically integrated entity. The goal is to build an end-to-end provider that combines a core communications platform with best-in-class AI-powered automation and workforce optimization tools.
Analysis
This move is less a merger of equals and more a strategic completion of a portfolio. Verint’s long-standing Achilles’ heel has been its lack of a native ICC platform, forcing it into a partner-centric ecosystem model. While successful, this position carried inherent risks and dependencies. The merger with Calabrio instantly plugs that critical gap. It transforms Verint from a powerful, but adjacent, best-of-breed vendor into the core of a comprehensive suite that can compete directly with market leaders like NICE and Genesys on all fronts.
The true potential of this new entity lies in the deep integration of Verint’s sophisticated AI and automation technologies directly into Calabrio’s core ICC architecture. This fusion creates a formidable competitor capable of offering a single, cohesive solution for everything from call routing to AI-powered agent assistance, quality management, and advanced workforce forecasting. The new company is no longer just a partner to other ICC vendors; it is now a direct and potent threat.
Thoma Bravo is betting that a fully integrated, AI-first suite from a single vendor will be more compelling to enterprises than assembling a solution from multiple providers. The execution of this integration will be critical, but the strategic logic is undeniable and poised to disrupt the market.
What Should Enterprises Do?
This news requires immediate and nuanced consideration. Current Verint customers who rely on its integrations with other ICC platforms must seek immediate clarity on the long-term roadmap for third-party support. It is crucial to understand if the new company will prioritize its native solution over its partner ecosystem.
For current Calabrio customers, this is a significant potential upgrade; they should engage with account teams to understand the timeline for integrating Verint’s market-leading WFM, automation, and AI Agent capabilities. For all other enterprises, this development introduces a powerful new all-in-one option. The decision is no longer just about which core ICC platform to choose, but whether to adopt a comprehensive suite from this new entity versus continuing with a multi-vendor strategy.
Bottom Line
Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of Verint and its merger with Calabrio is a calculated move to build a complete, end-to-end Intelligent Contact Center suite. By combining a leader in WFM and automation with a modern, cloud-native ICC platform, Thoma Bravo has created a new powerhouse from whole cloth. This is not just about gaining scale; it is about strategic completeness. Enterprises must recognize that a major ecosystem player has now become a direct platform competitor, a shift that will fundamentally alter vendor evaluations and the strategic landscape of the ICC market for years to come.
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