Bengaluru, Nov 22 (IANS): Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday announced to acquire global Cloud-based communications provider Vonage for $6.2 billion, as the company aims to expand its presence in wireless enterprise and broaden its global offerings.

The Cloud-based Vonage Communications Platform (VCP) -- accounting for approximately 80 per cent of Vonage's current revenues -- serves over 1,20,000 customers and more than one million registered developers globally.

The merger agreement is expected to complete in the first half of 2022, the company said in a statement.

"Vonage gives us a platform to help our customers monetise the investments in the network, benefitting developers and businesses. Imagine putting the power and capabilities of 5G, the biggest global innovation platform, at the fingertips of developers. Then back it with Vonage's advanced capabilities, in a world of 8 billion connected devices," said Borje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson.

With the acquisition, Vonage's strong developer ecosystem will get access to 4G and 5G network APIs, exposed in a simple and globally unified way, allowing them to develop new innovative global offerings.

"Businesses will benefit from the 5G performance, impacting operational performance, and share in new value coming from applications on top of the network," Ekholm added.

The transaction builds upon Ericsson's intent to expand globally in wireless enterprise, offering existing customers an increased share of a market valued at $700 billion by 2030.

"The combination of our two companies offers exciting opportunities for customers, partners, developers and team members to capture this next wave," said Rory Read, CEO of Vonage.