Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
eWEEK.com
Search
eWEEK.com
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Blogs First Read
    • Blogs
    • First Read

    Polycom Shareholders OK Sale to Private Equity Firm

    By
    JEFF BURT
    -
    September 6, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      tech business

      Polycom shareholders this month approved the sale of the company to private equity firm Siris Capital for about $2 billion, paving the way for the deal to be completed later this month or in October.

      Officials for the video conferencing vendor didn’t indicate how big the vote margin was, only that the vote passed Sept. 2.

      The shareholder vote brought closer to an end an acquisition that took a circuitous route and is the latest move in a rapidly changing global collaboration market. Unified communications vendor Mitel was on the verge of buying Polycom after announcing a $1.96 billion bid in April. The announcement came months after private equity firm Elliott Management bought significant stakes in both companies in October 2015 and floated the idea of a merger as a way of creating a larger company to compete with the likes of Cisco Systems and Microsoft and of returning more value to the shareholders of both companies.

      The Mitel and Polycom boards of directors both approved the deal, which seemed to be sailing along until reports of a competing offer began to surface. Eventually, Mitel pulled its bid in July after Siris offered $2 billion.

      The enterprise communications space is undergoing significant changes as organizations, under pressure from increasingly mobile work forces that want to collaborate where and when they want and with whatever device they want, are pushing for more software- and cloud-based solutions. Vendors are rapidly building out their portfolios, and over the past couple of years, other vendors have made moves, including Atos buying Unify, Lifesize spunning out of Logitech after shifting its portfolio to the cloud, and Mitel itself buying a couple of companies. In addition, ShoreTel and Avaya both have taken on advisers to review their options, which could include selling some or all of the companies.

      Most recently, contact center specialist Genesys announced last week it is buying rival Interactive Intelligence for about $1.4 billion.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      EWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      ZEUS KERRAVALA - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      WAYNE RASH - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Info

      © 2020 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×