Five9 expands in Europe with two data centres, relocates Russian staff

(Reuters) - Five9, the U.S. call centre software firm whose shareholders spurned a merger with Zoom last year, is looking to expand in Europe by setting up two data centres and relocating its employees in Russia to Portugal.

The data centres will be in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and serve customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

"Around 10% of our revenue today comes from Europe ... we are looking to at least double our European contribution in the near term," CEO Rowan Trollope told Reuters.

Shareholders of Five9, whose call centre software is used by more than 2,000 companies, in October turned down a merger with Zoom after it refused to add cash to its bid, relying solely on stock as payment.

Faced with the Russia-Ukraine war, Five9 has also offered to relocate its 176 employees in Russia to Portugal where it is opening a development site.

"The office in Russia is closing on June 10," Trollope said. "We have offered to relocate our employees, and we don't know what percentage of them will go, but it could be like 100 of them or so."

Trollope expects its centre in Portugal to employ around 300 to 400 people.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Mark Potter)