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SoundHound AI has finished its purchase of LivePerson, bringing together two companies that help businesses talk to customers through AI. By joining forces, the new company can offer a single service that handles both voice calls and text-based messaging. John Collins, who was an executive at LivePerson, will serve as the finance chief for the combined business.
This deal is a major turning point because it solves the heavy debt problems that were weighing on LivePerson. For long-term owners, the focus now shifts to how well the two teams can blend their technology. If they can use LivePerson's massive library of chat data to make SoundHound's voice AI smarter, they may be able to win larger contracts with big corporations that neither could land on their own.
Source: GlobeNewsWire
Director Ryan Vardeman sold roughly 3.9 million dollars worth of shares on September 4. This sale happened right as the merger with SoundHound AI was finalized.
While a sale this size often catches the eye, it is common for directors to sell shares during a merger as their ownership is converted or settled. Because this happened exactly at the closing of the deal, it likely reflects the planned exit of a board member rather than a sudden lack of faith in the new combined company.
Management has frequently cleared a low bar with five beats in the last eight quarters, but the business is still shrinking and losing money. This makes their forecasts difficult to trust as they pivot to a new owner.
| Expectation | |
|---|---|
| EPS | $-0.99 |
| Revenue | $49M |