Jul 20, 2021
Viavi boosts offer for Exfo ahead of privatization vote
BNN Bloomberg
,Exfo receives sweetened takeover bid from U.S. tech company Viavi
Exfo Inc. shares moved higher Tuesday morning after American telecom network provider Viavi Solutions Inc. raised its offer price for the Quebec-based company.
The cash offer from Viavi was raised to US$8.00 per share, up from US$7.50 per share, and is a 33 per cent premium to the current privatization arrangement put forward by Exfo founder Germain Lamonde. Lamonde offered to buy the company for US$6.00 per share.
In a release disclosing the sweetened offer, Viavi said Lamonde’s offer undervalues Exfo. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company said there are "clear strategic merits" to acquiring Exfo as Viavi is currently building out 5G infrastructure for American telecom providers.
In response to the boosted bid, Lamonde, who owns 61.46 per cent of Exfo’s shares, said he would not consider any transaction with Viavi, or any other change of control transaction.
"Viavi knew full well I would reject any new non-binding, non-executable tentative proposal, which in my view is only intended to create distortion in the current go-private process and is simply
aimed at eliminating Viavi's main competitor." he said in a release.
A vote on the privatization offer will be held August 13.