“We continue to believe that the combination of our two companies offers a compelling opportunity to add sustained value to both organizations, and would solidify our combined leadership position in a highly competitive and rapidly consolidating market,” said Richard McBee, chief executive officer of Kanata, Ontario-based Mitel, in a letter to ShoreTel’s board today.
Mitel said the new offer was for $8.10 a share in cash, and 40 cents in Mitel common shares, or about 2.72 million shares.
Both companies sell communications systems to small- and medium-sized businesses. McBee said in an interview on Nov 7th that Mitel wants to be a consolidator in that space. Mitel said the offer will remain open until Nov 20th at 5 p.m.
“A review of recent cloud market share and growth rankings demonstrates the significant challenges ShoreTel faces as a standalone company,” McBee said in the letter today to ShoreTel’s board. “Our proposal, on the other hand, brings both an immediate and significant premium to your shareholders plus the opportunity for them to participate in the upside that would be created by a combination of our two companies.”