Citrix Systems, makers of GotoMeeting, GotoWebinar and other video conferencing services has quietly acquired high definition voice conference provider Vapps for $26.6 million in cash. The details of the acquisition were released with Citrix’s November 14th SEC filings. Vapps had been a pioneer in the field of “HD” voice conferencing services, and has partnered with Skype, Adobe, Yahoo and MSN among other services providing high quality audio conferencing.

Vapps HD conferencing is audio that is sent on the 16 KHz “wideband” codec. This is twice the standard 8 KHz that most VoIP encoding (roughly what you’d get on a PSTN call) provides. Vapps services supports up to 500 callers on the line and provides a monthly flat rate service that encourages all day, continuous use. Vapps customers reportedly use roughly half a billion minutes per year.

Citrix will likely integrate Vapps technology into it’s current suite of collaboration services. In addition to the $26.6 million in cash, Vapps also has the usual “if they meet certain goals” incentives at a not-so-usual $4.4 million price tag. According to both companies, Vapps and Citrix have been negotiating the deal for “several months.”

Vapps had been financed solely by Azure Capital Partners, who will see a 3.6 times return on it’s initial VC investment that it staked only 18 months ago. Much shorter than the duration most VCs have to wait to see any it at all a return on their investment.

With the newest releases of both Citirix GoToMeeting and new GoToWebinar applications, Citrix is throwing in a few free online collaboration tools. Free VoIP and audio conferencing for both Mac and PC are now integrated to deliver a seamless experience with the newest releases the company’s webcasting and webinar applications. One-click online meetings are now possible with this new combination of VoIP, phone and web conferencing for small-group online meetings and large-group webinar events.

Citrix Online (a division of Citrix Inc.) flagship product, GoToMeeting can accommodate up to 25 attendees and it’s newer online application: GoToWebinar can accommodate up to 1,000 attendees simultaneously

Vice President of Citrix Online, Elizabeth Cholawsky:

[With the new releases of GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar], every feature is based on extensive user feedback, from full Macintosh access to this new total audio solution.

Citrix Online sells direct via a sales force and online, but also has a channel program that offers incentives to resellers who recommend Citrix products to clients. Citrix has approximately 7,680 channel and alliance partners in more than 100 countries world-wide.