According to the Wall Street Journal, unified communications vendor Mitel is making a bid for rival industry giant Avaya.
UC Today reported earlier this month that multiple bids were imminent for global telecommunications giant, Avaya. Among the parties rumoured to be interested were Searchlight Capital Partners who acquired communication rival Mitel back in 2018 for around $2 billion. Now, after a report published today in the Wall Street Journal, it appears that Mitel's interest in potentially acquiring Avaya and merging the two companies is more concrete.
The Journal report states that Mitel, and its financial backers, are looking to offer roughly $20 to $22 per share, valuing Avaya at well over $2 billion. This slightly exceeds the current expected value of proposed bids, rumoured to be imminent from other rival parties. Avaya's stock value, at the time of reporting, has risen from the date when acquisition rumours initially circulated to its current price at just over $19 per share.
Potential rival bidders appear to come predominately from the private sector, but they may also hold complimentary unified communications portfolios. Apollo Global Management LLC own West Corp, who operate in unified communication and collaboration services and Permira Holdings own contact centre solution specialist Genesys. Although none of the potential bidders have publicly announced their intent it does appear that the successful candidate may well be revealed within the next few weeks.
Mitel has always pursued a strategy of acquisitions to extend and enhance its portfolio. It courted Polycom before losing out to a private equity firm and also purchased Shortel, in one of the industry's larger deals, in 2017. Its move back into private hands with the Searchlight acquisition was widely reported to offer greater flexibility away from the gaze and financial scrutiny of Wall Street.
