Multi-strategy hedge fund manager Elliott Management Corporation, which holds an approximately 6.6 per cent interest in Polycom, Inc common stock and an approximately 9.7 per cent interest in Mitel Networks common stock has announced its support for the Mitel-Polycom transaction.
“The combination of Mitel and Polycom makes perfect strategic and financial sense,” says Jesse Cohn, senior portfolio manager at Elliott. “The combined business will have far greater scale than either company alone, the ability to deliver a full array of products to customers, and the means to invest behind product areas that will provide stability and growth for the future. Financially, the combination will create a company with a strong balance sheet, meaningful synergies, and enormous cash flow generation that can be used to engage in value-generative M&A.
“Polycom’s Board and CEO Peter Leav have displayed an outstanding commitment to delivering shareholder value, and Mitel CEO Rich McBee and CFO Steve Spooner have a proven track record of integrating acquisitions successfully and performing on synergy plans. Elliott strongly supports this transaction and looks forward to participating in the significant value creation for all shareholders.”
