Marlin Equity to take Tellabs private in $891 mln deal

Marlin offered $2.45 a share, representing a 4.3 percent premium to Tellabs’ Oct 18 closing.

Tellabs provides services that help wireless and optical network providers, such as Vodafone Plc, MegaFon, MTS and Telecom Italia, to manage traffic and improve data service on their networks.

The company, which has posted quarterly losses for the last three years, said the deal follows a “thorough” review of its strategic options and that it had contacted more than 30 firms for a deal.

“We view Tellabs’ business as an ideal opportunity to capitalize on the growth in the telecom network equipment sector,” Marlin co-founder and partner Nick Kaiser said in a statement.

Los Angeles-based Marlin Equity, which bought Nokia Siemens Networks’ optical business in December, has said it intends to act as a consolidator in the fragmented optical networking sector.

Tellabs, which expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, said co-founder and second-largest shareholder Michael Birck supported the deal.

Goldman, Sachs & Co advised Tellabs, while Credit Suisse and Evercore advised Marlin.

Soham Chatterjee is a reporter for Reuters News in Bangalore