Cisco stands by Tandberg offer

Cisco is appealing to Tandberg shareholders to accept the offer

Networking giant Cisco believes that its £1.8bn offer for Norwegian videoconferencing firm Tandberg is fair, according to the firm's chief strategy officer, Ned Hooper.

Reports at the weekend suggested that Cisco was considering walking away from the deal because Tandberg shareholders were looking for a higher price.

Hooper has defended the current price, but seems to hint that the cost of the deal may outweigh some of its benefits.

"We strongly believe our offer is a very good price for Tandberg shareholders. The bottom line is that Cisco will always act with fiscal prudence," Hooper said in a blog post.

"The collaboration market is a $34bn [£21bn] opportunity where voice is currently the largest application. We believe that video will become the core of the collaboration market, but it will require substantial innovation and investment to drive this transition."

Hooper added that competition in the area is growing, and that a timely decision is important. Tandberg shareholders have until 9 November to accept the offer.

"Given all the speculative 'noise' last week, I wanted to take the time to reiterate these points because it is important to me, and to Cisco, that all of our stakeholders understand our position as we near the end of the offer period, " he said.