Weekly Deal Roundup

Cisco Systems Offers $3 Billion to Acquire Tandberg
From: Marketwatch
Cisco Systems, the San Jose, Calif. networking-equipment giant, agreed to acquire Tandberg, the Oslo producer of video-communications technology, for $3 billion, the companies said on Thursday. Cisco has agreed to pay 153.5 Norwegian kroner ($26.61) a share, a premium of 11% to Tandberg’s closing price on Wednesday and 25% over its three-month volume-weighted-average closing price. Tandberg’s board has unanimously approved the terms, the companies said. Cisco expects the deal to add to its adjusted earnings in fiscal 2011. Subject to conditions including regulatory clearance in the U.S. and elsewhere, the companies hope to close the deal in the calendar first half of 2010.
Read more at Marketwatch.
ViaSat To Acquire WildBlue For $568 Million
Satellite communication systems vendor ViaSat has signed a definitive agreement to acquire WildBlue Communications, a privately held satellite broadband service provider, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $568 million.
WildBlue provides service using ViaSat’s SurfBeam networking system to more than 400,000 consumers and small business subscribers in areas “unserved and underserved” by cable modem or DSL services in the contiguous U.S. Wild Blue’s service is resold by DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.
When the deal closes, WildBlue investors are expected to have the right to nominate one representative to the ViaSat board of directors and have agreed to allow John Malone’s Liberty Media to select the representative.
Other WildBlue investors — Intelsat, Tennenbaum Capital Partners, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers — are also expected to become ViaSat shareholders as a result of the transaction.
Read the press release.
Nortel To Auction Off Its GSM/GSM-R Business
From: The Wall Street Journal
Nortel Networks Corp. (NRTLQ) said its principal operating subsidiary, Nortel Networks Ltd., and certain of its other units plan to sell by “open auction” substantially all of its global operations using the Global System for Mobile, or GSM, communications standard. The sale is expected to include the transfer of certain GSM patents, Nortel said.
The bidding deadline for the sale, being conducted under Nortel’s bankruptcy proceedings, is Nov. 5, and a final sale agreement would be subject to approval by the U.S. and Canadian courts, the Toronto-based telecom said.
In connection with this proposed sale, NNL also expects to transfer specified patents predominantly used in the GSM business and grant non-exclusive licenses of other relevant patents.
Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Bharti-MTN talks collapse again
From: The Financial Express
Current Indian exchange control regulatory framework for transactions such as the proposed MTN-Bhart merger and require the approval of the minister of finance. This was the case with the proposed MTN-Bharti merger, which required certain exchange control and other approvals.
Read more at The Financial Express.