The disgruntled founder of software maker Inter-Tel Inc. is poised to make an all-cash takeover bid for the company he founded – a move analysts said will force the company to put itself up for sale.
Steven Mihaylo, who founded Inter-Tel in 1969 and owns a 20 percent stake, has received backing for his bid from private-equity firm Vector Capital. He shot a letter to the company yesterday requesting a meeting with the board.
Inter-Tel’s shares jumped 15 percent, or $3.13, to $24.01 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday.
The Post reported last month that Mihaylo was pumping private-equity firms for cash ahead of a possible Inter-Tel bid.
Mihaylo has waged a public battle against Inter-Tel’s management since he was ousted as chairman and CEO in late February after a dispute about the company’s direction.
Because of the public nature of Mihaylo’s latest offer, Inter-Tel’s board and its Chief Executive Norman Stout have no choice but to put the company on the auction block, analysts said.
The company denied an offer was on the table. “Mr. Mihaylo has not made an offer to acquire Inter-Tel,” stated Alexander Cappello, Inter-Tel’s chairman. “There is nothing for shareholders to act on at this time.”
“Management’s only hope is to get someone other than Mihaylo to buy the company, and that can only happen if you open up the bidding,” said one person familiar with the company.
“Vector and I are prepared to take on the risk associated with the transition of the business and, at the same time, pay the other existing shareholders a meaningful premium for their shares,” Mihaylo said in the letter.
It’s unclear how much Vector and Mihaylo plan to offer for Inter-Tel, but sources speculated Inter-Tel could fetch around $26 a share, or roughly $560 million, in enterprise value.