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Cisco Systems has bumped up its buyout offer to $3.41 billion for video conferencing company Tandberg.
The network giant’s initial bid received a thumbs down from most of Tandberg’s shareholders, who felt the initial $3 billion offer undervalued the company.
So far, more than 40 percent of Tandberg’s stockholders, which includes investment firm OppenheimerFunds and Norwegian government pension fund Folketrygdfondet, have pre-accepted the new offer.
Cisco announced on October 1 that it was pursuing a $3 billion cash takeover of Tandberg, a major global supplier of video conferencing equipment with dual headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and New York City.
Increasingly important to companies looking to cut travel costs, teleconferencing is considered a growth industry. Cisco wants a bigger piece of that pie, and analysts didn’t expect it to give up on Tandberg too easily.
The new bid expires December 1. Cisco said that if the bid isn’t accepted by that deadline, it will withdraw the bid and look at other ways to expand its reach in the video conferencing market.
Cisco has been on a tear lately buying smaller niche companies, taking over a few firms earlier in the year and recently announcing plans to gobble up security software firm ScanSafe and wireless equipment maker Starent Networks.
