(Alliance News) - Viavi Solutions Inc on Tuesday said a rival bid for Spirent Communications PLC would "limit customer choice".
Last Thursday, Spirent, the Crawley, England-based test and assurance solutions provider said it agreed to a GBP1.16 billion takeover from Keysight Technologies Inc, a Santa Rosa, California-based manufacturer of electronics test and measurement equipment and software.
This trumped the GBP1.01 billion bid by Viavi, a Chandler, Arizona-based manufacturer of testing and monitoring equipment for networks, which Spirent had recommended on March 5.
The latest offer valued Spirent at 201.5 pence per share, 199.0p in cash and 2.5p in a special dividend.
Viavi's all-cash offer was for 175 pence per share, comprising 172.5p cash and a 2.5p special dividend.
In a statement, Viavi said its deal represented "certain value" and noted its limited business overlap with Spirent relative to Keysight.
"Viavi believes that the proposed combination of Keysight and Spirent would further entrench Keysight's leading position in many product segments, which would limit customer choice," Viavi said.
Shares in Spirent eased 0.7% to 198.60 pence each in London on Tuesday. Viavi closed down 2.0% at USD8.91 in New York on Monday, while Keysight was unchanged at USD155.00 on Monday.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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Spirent (SPT)
