Polycom Switches Suitors, Agrees to $2 Billion Acquisition by Siris Capital

Polycom terminated its $1.96 billion merger agreement with Mitel after receiving a better offer, Mitel said in a news release Friday. Polycom agreed to $2 billion deal with Siris Capital Group, Siris said in a separate announcement. The change in plans occurred more than a month after the FTC OK’d Polycom’s buy of the Ottawa-based unified communications provider (see 1605190035). The deal was announced in April. Polycom gave Mitel the chance to match the new offer, as required in their agreement, but Mitel decided against it, the Canadian company said. As a result, Polycom will pay Mitel $60 million to terminate the deal, Mitel said. “The agreement announced on April 15 resulted from a detailed due diligence and negotiation process that we feel accurately determined fair value for Polycom,” said Mitel CEO Rich McBee. “We feel it would not be in the best interest of Mitel shareholders to adjust the existing agreement.” Polycom said it expects to close the Siris deal in Q3 after receiving stockholder and regulatory approvals.