The Canadian equipment vendor announced its intention of acquiring Tempe, Arzona-based Inter-Tel at the end of last month for $25.60 a share, which would represent a total price of $723m. The plan is to take Nasdaq-list Inter-Tel private and become a combined entity with revenue in excess of $800m, significantly increasing Ottawa, Ontario-based Mitel’s presence in the US market.
However, Inter-Tel announced yesterday that it had received a counter-proposal from Vector at $26.50 per share, with its special committee notifying Mitel that it would engage in discussions with the new bidder and provide it access to information for confirmatory due diligence. The company also said the Vector move was reasonably likely to lead to a superior proposal from Mitel.
