GEC NEWS WIREThe combined company will be headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and will operate under the name Mitel
Mitel Networks Corporation, a leading provider of cloud and premises-based unified communications software solutions, and Aastra Technologies Limited), a leader in enterprise communications have entered into a definitive arrangement agreement unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, under which Mitel will acquire all of the outstanding Aastra common shares for US$6.52 in cash plus 3.6 Mitel common shares per each Aastra common share. Using the Mitel closing common share price on November 8, 2013, and a CAD/USD exchange rate of 0.9531, this amounts to CAD$31.96 per Aastra common share, a total value on closing to Aastra shareholders of CAD$392M and represents a 20.9% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of Aastra common shares as of November 8, 2013.
The strategic move, designed to build scope and scale in a consolidating market, will create a billion dollar company with one of the largest global footprints in the industry, #1 market share in Western Europe, a US$100 million cloud business, and a global installed customer base ready for upgrade as the US$18 billion business communications market prepares to migrate to software-based cloud services. The combined company will be headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and will operate under the name Mitel while continuing to leverage Aastra’s strong brand recognition in select European markets. The executive management team will continue to be led by current Mitel President and Chief Executive Officer, Richard McBee.
“Our two organizations are tightly aligned culturally and financially with little product, geographic or channel overlap” said Tony Shen. “We are stronger together, and combined we will be a major global player. We are confident that this merger will create value for our shareholders, customers, partners and employees,” added Francis Shen.
