EXFO rejects Viavi's latest offerEXFO rejects Viavi's latest offer

EXFO said it won't accept Viavi Solutions' latest takeover offer, arguing it's not a "superior proposal."

The news is noteworthy considering that, according to EXFO, Viavi's latest proposal is almost double what the company offered for EXFO around six months ago. But Viavi may still have time to sweeten its offer. EXFO said it's holding a special shareholder meeting August 13 to consider a plan that would make the Canadian operation a private company again.

The issue is an important one for the network testing and measurement space. Viavi and EXFO are two of the biggest players in the market, and a combination of the two would result in a market dominated by Keysight Technologies and the combined Viavi and EXFO.

Back and forth

According to EXFO, Viavi has been chasing such a merger between the two since November, when Viavi offered to acquire EXFO at $4.75 per share. That offer rose to $5.25 in May. Then, in June, EXFO's founder and majority shareholder, Germain Lamonde, said he wanted to take EXFO private by acquiring all the company's shares. Shortly afterward, Viavi made a public counterbid, which was swiftly rejected by EXFO.

The latest skirmish occurred this week, with Viavi raising its offer to $8 per share and EXFO, two days later, arguing that it wasn't a "superior" offer.

Shares of both Viavi and EXFO have gained ground during the past six months.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano