Avaya Inc In Talks With Private Equity Firms, Others For Sell Out
Avaya Inc., a maker of corporate-phone systems, is reportedly in talks with private equity firms or other bidders to sell out fully or partially. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in discussions with Silver Lake Partners about a leveraged buyout. The company is also in talks with Nortel Networks Corp. and could attract other bidders too, the paper reported. See a MarketWatch report on the same.
This has implications for its Indian entity Avaya GlobalConnect, in which Avaya Inc currently holds 59.13 per cent stake. A deal in the parent company could lead to an open offer in the Indian entity, which was earlier known as Tata Telecom. The Tata Group sold out its 25.1 per cent shareholding to Avaya in 2004. Moneycontrol has more details here.
Last Friday, Avaya had abruptly postponed its annual meeting with analysts. This has led to the speculation that a deal is imminent.
Avaya, based in New Jersey, holds a number of patents in Internet telephony. It was a former unit of Lucent Technologies. Bidders are attracted to the company’s market-leading position, absence of debt and strong cash flow, says MarketWatch.
