Enterprise Video archives - Unified Communications Nation
Home > IT Blogs > Unified Communications Nation >

Unified Communications Nation:

enterprise video

Nov 16 2009   7:23PM GMT

Cisco gives in to demands of holdout Tandberg shareholders



Posted by: Shamus McGillicuddy
videoconferencing, enterprise video, Tandberg, Cisco, mergers & acquisitions

Cisco’s newly revised $3.41 billion offer for Tandberg represents a total capitulation to the demands of several holdout Tandberg shareholders who were asking for more money.

Cisco originally offered $3 billion for the Norwegian videoconferencing vendor, but the deal was contingent on 90% of Tandberg shareholders accepting the price. The deal appeared in trouble when a cadre of shareholders who owned about 24% of the company’s stock demanded an 11% increase over Cisco’s original offer.

Today Cisco has come through with that. Its $410 million bid increase is about $80 million more than the holdout shareholders were asking for. This deal looks like it’s going to happen.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button     0 Comments     RSS Feed     Email a friend

Oct 30 2009   7:28PM GMT

Is Cisco backing out of Tandberg deal?



Posted by: Shamus McGillicuddy
Polycom, Tandberg, Cisco, videoconferencing, enterprise video

Bloomberg is reporting that Cisco might walk away from its agreement to buy Tandberg. As we mentioned two weeks ago, A large group of shareholders have balked at the $3 billion offer Cisco and Tandberg’s executives and boards of directors agreed upon. Cisco’s Tandberg deal is contingent on it being able to acquire 90% of the company’s stock. Twenty-one shareholders who own 24% of the company say Cisco’s offer is too low.

Bloomberg is citing a “person familiar with the transaction” as the anonymous source for its report.  Financial analyst Martin Hoff at Arctic Securities ASA told Bloomberg that Cisco probably won’t just walk away. Instead, the anonymous claim that Cisco is contemplating a pullout from the deal is probably just a scare tactic. “It’s probably smart of them to send some signals to scare the shareholders into accepting the offer,” he told Bloomberg.

If Cisco does close the Tandberg deal, it will expand its enterprise video strategy from its high-end telepresence products to a full suite of desktop and room-based video systems, multipoint control units and video management software. Combined with Cisco’s existing lines of telephony products and Cisco will be competing directly with Tandberg’s chief rival Polycom on all fronts. If that happens, enterprises can expect other major communications vendors like Avaya and Microsoft to become heavily aligned with Polycom.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button     0 Comments     RSS Feed     Email a friend