Business communications systems and service provider Mitel is to acquire rival ShoreTel for US$530 million, saying the move will put it into second position in the global unified communications-as-a-service market. Both of these strong US-companies have a presence in Australia.
Mitel said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of ShoreTel at $7.50 per share, a 28 percent premium to ShoreTel’s closing share price on July 26.
However the deal has come under fire. Shareholder rights law firm Johnson & Weaver has launched an investigation into whether ShoreTel board members breached their fiduciary duties in agreeing to the proposed sale.
It issued a statement, saying: “The investigation concerns whether the ShoreTel board failed to satisfy its duties to the company shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for ShoreTel shares.”
It noted that one Wall Street analyst had given a price target of $11 a share and that ShoreTel had more than $100 million in cash and no long-term debt.
