Tandberg talking to potential buyer

Oslo, Norway, videoconferencing company Tandberg, not to be confused with the Tandberg TV group now owned by Ericsson, is in preliminary acquisition talks with a private equity firm. Tandberg declined to identify the possible suitor. Some reports suggested it could be U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake. That firm declined comment on the matter to the Financial Times, but it would be interesting on at least two fronts if Silver Lake does turn out to be the suitor.

First, former longtime Cisco Systems executive Charlie Giancarlo has been on board at Silver Lake since last year. Giancarlo's former employer has been carrying the torch for telepresence, the latest evolution in videoconferencing, for some time. Now, carriers and corporate enterprise alike are taking notice of telepresence, and the marketing for telepresence gear is heating up. Tandberg announced its own telepresence efforts earlier this year.

Second, Silver Lake owns enterprise-focused Avaya, and a Silver Lake acquisition of Tandberg could result in these occasional competitors working more cooperatively.

For more:
- see this story [1] at The Financial Times
- read this report [2] at Light Reading

Related articles:
Giancarlo left Cisco for Silver Lake late last year. Giancarlo report [3]
Tandberg has a telepresence partnership with Nortel. Tandberg report [4]