Mitel (News - Alert) is at it again.
In an effort to be a key player in what it says is a rapidly consolidating UC market, the company disclosed Monday it had made a proposal to buy ShoreTel (News - Alert) Inc. for approximately $540 million. The offer, according to Mitel, represents a 24 percent premium to ShoreTel's closing stock price on Oct. 17, and a 30 percent premium to ShoreTel's enterprise value.
But Mitel’s effort to buy ShoreTel, if it plays out, looks to be a bit more of a challenge than the acquisitions it’s done in the recent past, as ShoreTel’s board has apparently closed the door to this suitor.
"We are disappointed that the ShoreTel Board has rejected our proposal and refused to engage with us,” Richard McBee, president and CEO of Mitel, said in a press release issued this morning. “Mitel continues to believe that the proposal offers ShoreTel shareholders an attractive premium. We remain open to constructive and progressive discussions and for that reason I have advised the ShoreTel Board that our proposal will remain open until 5pm EST on November 20, 2014."
Mitel has been a hub of activity recently, having just earlier this month launched the new tagline Powering Connections, and begun promoting the fact that in the past 18 months it’s doubled in size, and expanded its market presence and product portfolio.
The company has done that through via both acquisition and organic growth. In March, Mitel bought contact center company OAISYS; in January it snapped up Aastra; contact center company prairieFyre joined Mitel in June 2013; and Mitel acquired Inter-Tel (News - Alert) in April 2007.
"Mitel has undergone a massive transformation. We have emerged as a truly global industry leader in our market," McBee said in a press release the company issued Oct. 1 announcing the new brand. "We have the strongest market position we have ever had. Our award-winning cloud solutions offer Mitel customers the best path to cloud communications, and they have given us the fastest-growing cloud business in our sector. We also have the broadest portfolio in the industry. This combination enables us to address the needs of all kinds of customers, from the smallest to the largest organizations. The new Mitel is a company on the move, and the rebranding is another major milestone on our journey."
A global provider of unified communications and collaboration software, contact center solutions, and services, Mitel enables organizations to connect employees, partners, and customers to streamline business anywhere, over any medium with the device of their choice. This includes MiVoice business phones and unified communications platforms; MiCollab solutions that combine collaboration, mobility and messaging; and MiContact Center solutions to empower immersive customer service.
Mitel offers both on-premises and cloud solutions with what it says is an easy path to private, public, and hybrid cloud. Its solutions address the needs of clients of all sizes and stripes, from single-location businesses to multinationals. Its go-to-market includes a network of more than 1,600 value-added resellers and partners.
As reported last month by TMCnet, Mitel has gained No. 1 market share in EMEA and Western Europe. And in March, it introduced its white label MiCloud Enterprise UCaaS solution for partners, earlier available in the U.S. market.
As for ShoreTel, the company has also been working to be one of the last UC players standing when major industry consolidation runs its course. At an event in November of 2012, the company talked about how it was the fastest growing player in the U.S. enterprise IP telephony market in terms of revenue, was promoting its new cloud strategy, recent high-level hires, and revved up product release, marketing, and sales efforts. The following year, in August 2013, it appointed Don Joos as CEO.
"ShoreTel now has the opportunity to extend its leadership position by fully integrating its cloud offering across its suite of unified communications products," Joos said at the time. "With some of the highest customer satisfaction in the business, world-class employees and a strong track record of innovation, the company's prospects are unlimited.
ShoreTel’s portfolio includes on-premises and cloud-based telephony solutions, including a desktop call control suite, a mobility client, and a cloud-based contact center.
Through ShoreTel Communicator, the desktop call-control suite within ShoreTel 14.2, users can participate in room-based videoconferences using industry standard H.264 AVC technology. Via the ShoreTel Mobility Client, ShoreTel customers can communicate via video between iOS and Android (News - Alert) smart phones and tablets. ShoreTel Sky Contact Center is fully integrated with the ShoreTel Sky enterprise phone service; any user profile can have a hosted contact center agent license added to it.
ShoreTel has confirmed it received the unsolicited proposal from Mitel to acquire all of the outstanding shares for $8.10 per share in cash. Consistent with fiduciary duties, the company’s board of directors together with financial and legal advisors said they will carefully review and evaluate the Proposal and determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company’s stockholders.
The company is also advising stockholders “not to take any action at this time pending the review of the Proposal by the Company’s board of directors.”
Edited by Stefania Viscusi
View all articles