The wave of consolidation currently underway in the contact center automation space is continuing to pick up steam. Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc., one of the largest players in the segment, today announced its intentions to acquire rival Interactive Intelligence Group Inc.  for $1.4 billion in cash.

The sum represents a hefty 36 percent premium over the last closing price of the outfit’s stock before word of the deal got to Wall Street earlier this week. Investors seem to approve of the buyout judging by the more than 5 percent spike in the value of Interactive Intelligence shares that occurred after the leak.

“By combining the strengths of Genesys and Interactive Intelligence, we will help our customers deliver exceptional service by powering the world’s best customer experiences at scale anytime, anywhere – over any channel, both in the cloud and on-premise,” Genesys Chief Executive Paul Segre (pictured) said in a blog post.

That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the company’s widening losses, which grew from $3.46 million in the first quarter of 2015 to $13.2 million during the first three months of this year. Its poor performance is attributed mainly to an ongoing effort by the management team to transition toward a cloud-based model, a push that should go much smoother with Genesys’ help.

Joining up with privately-traded firm will also remove the need for Interactive Intelligence to deliver the short-term results that Wall Street demands and enable its leadership pursue its plans unhindered. As for Genesys, it stands to benefit even more from the deal. Absorbing Interactive Intelligence’s 1800-strong workforce will give the company more resources with which to fight the intensifying competition in the contact center automation space. One of its biggest rivals is the Israel-based NICE Ltd., which recently bought inContact Inc. for $940 million as part of a similar growth effort.

Genesys has no intention of letting the competition gain the upper hand. Reuters reported earlier this month that the company is in talks to acquire Avaya Inc.’s contact center business for $4 billion to scale its business even further. And a few weeks before, it raised $900 million from private equality firm Hellman & Friedman LLC in a move that a separate leak revealed is also part of the expansion effort.

At this rate, the industry can expect a lot more mergers and acquisitions before the current round of consolidation is over.

Image from Genesys