Cisco pushes back the deadline for deciding whether to push forward with its $3.4 billion bid for video conferencing rival Tandberg. Cisco officials say they will decide soon after the Dec. 3 deadline whether they have the necessary support from Tandberg shareholders to go forward. Cisco initially offered $3 billion for Tandberg, but was met by opposition from Tandberg investors, who sought more money for the company.
Cisco Systems once again has extended its deadline to buy video conferencing
rival Tandberg, pushing it back by two days to Dec. 3.
In a brief statement Dec. 1, Cisco officials said that soon after the
deadline passes, they will decide whether they have the necessary support of
Tandberg investors holding at least 90 percent of the company's shares.
Cisco in October announced plans to buy the Norwegian company for $3
billion. However, opposition from investors who held as much as 30 percent of
Tandberg's stock soon arose, with the shareholders arguing that the bid was too
low and that they preferred to see the company stay independent unless a better
offer from Cisco or another party was submitted.
On Nov. 17, Cisco
upped
its bid to almost $3.4 billion, with officials saying it would be their
final offer.
Tandberg's board of directors already had approved the $3 billion offer.
Cisco already offers a host of video conferencing products, but most of
those are aimed at the high end of the market. Bringing Tandberg into the fold
would give Cisco greater traction in the SMB space, where Tandberg has a strong
presence.
Cisco sees video as an important piece of the larger $34 billion
collaboration space. Other companies also are making a play in the video
conferencing space, as illustrated by Logitech's announcement Nov. 10 that it
is buying LifeSize Communications for $405 million, putting it into competition
with Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Polycom.
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