PBX vendor Avaya Inc. has agreed to be acquired for $17.50 per share by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and TPG Ventures in a cash deal worth about $8.2 billion. (See Avaya Agrees Takeover.)

The deal was widely expected after numerous media reports Monday followed last week's speculation that a number of players, including Nortel Networks Ltd. , were hoping to buy Avaya. (See Nortel: Kissing Avaya Goodbya? and Should Nortel Buy Avaya?.)

The agreed price, slightly higher than the expected $17 reported Monday, is about 28 percent higher than Avaya's closing share price of $13.67 on May 25, the last trading day before the takeover speculation began.

Avaya's stock ended Monday up 64 cents, about 4 percent, at $16.72.

But the Avaya saga may not be over. While Silver Lake and TPG expect to close the deal "in the fall" this year, the agreement allows Avaya to solicit alternative bids during the next 50 days, which gives the vendor's board until July 25 to find a better offer.

Industry opinion suggests Nortel doesn't have the financial clout to come back with a better deal, while some analysts believe even $17 per share would have been a high price to pay for Avaya, so the PBX firm will do well to find a higher offer.

However, initial market talk last week suggested that an offer of around $20 per share was being contemplated, and with the private equity community awash with cash that it needs to invest, a rival bid can't be ruled out. (See Avaya Close to Deal .)

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading