Cisco Offers $3 Billion for Tandberg

POSTED October 3, 2009

SAN JOSE and OSLO, NORWAY -- Cisco announced it will launch a recommended voluntary cash offer to acquire TANDBERG, based in Oslo, Norway and New York. TANDBERG is a global leader in video communications, including a broad range of world-class video endpoint and network infrastructure solutions with intercompany and multi-vendor interoperability. With this proposed acquisition, Cisco will expand its collaboration portfolio to offer more solutions to a greater number of customers, further accelerating market adoption globally.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will commence a cash tender offer to purchase all the outstanding shares of TANDBERG for 153.5 Norwegian Kroner per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.0 billion. This represents an 11.0% premium to the previous day closing price of TANDBERG's stock, and a 25.2% premium to the 3-month volume weighted average closing price for TANDBERG's stock. The proposal was recommended unanimously by TANDBERG's board of directors.

The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of calendar year 2010; however, the close date is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory review in the United States and elsewhere. Cisco expects the acquisition to be accretive to Cisco's non-GAAP earnings in fiscal year 2011.

"Cisco and TANDBERG have remarkably similar cultures and a shared vision to change the way the world works through collaboration and video communications technologies," said Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers. "Collaboration is a $34 billion market and is growing rapidly—enabled by networked Web 2.0 technologies. This acquisition showcases Cisco's financial strength and ability to quickly capture key market transitions for growth."

Cisco and TANDBERG share a vision of changing the way people communicate and collaborate," said TANDBERG Chief Executive Officer Fredrik Halvorsen. "This transaction is a vote of confidence, not just in TANDBERG but in our technology and our people. The combination of world-class technologies, Cisco's global scale, and exceptional people from both organizations will enable us to accelerate innovation and market adoption."


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