Avaya confirms potential of takeover or management buyout
Avaya has confirmed it is considering a takeover and management buyout after results "fell short of expectations".
The news comes just weeks after rumours emerged that competitor Mitel was preparing a bid, while reports of a private equity-backed deal surfaced before that.
Avaya generated revenue of $709m (£547.7m) in its Q2, which ended on 31 March 2019, up five per cent year on year.
However, it was down four per cent on Q1's figure, which was enough to trigger talks of selling.
The comms player has hired JP Morgan to "explore strategic alternatives" in order to maximise shareholder value.
"The board has not set a timetable for the process, nor has it made any decisions related to any strategic alternatives at this time," Jim Chirico, Avaya CEO, told investors on an earnings call.
"There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any particular outcome. The company does not intend to provide updates unless or until it determines that further disclosure is necessary."
He placed some of the blame for the revenue shortfall on Reuters, which ran a story in March speculating about a buyout.
"This created uncertainty among our customers and partners and led to a noticeable change in buying behaviour," Chirico said.
"We have implemented a customer outreach and communications plan that emphasises our innovation, strength and market leadership to help address the situation.
"But bottom line, the timing of the speculation, while difficult to pinpoint a quantitative impact, clearly had an effect."
He attributed the revenue shortfall in Q2 to missing a deadline with a new partner offering in the contact centre space and expects it to resolve itself in the current quarter.
Another factor at play was the "operational execution issues" associated with the distribution of its new J Series desk phones among channel partners, where instead of supplying the demand for the product, it flooded the channel with an older series model.
The CEO told investors that it would take until early Q4 for this situation to be resolved.
"Our top-line results and earnings fell short of expectations," he stated.
"In response, we have implemented a number of corrective actions to drive improved performance.
"While I'm disappointed in our results last quarter, overall, I remain confident about our path forward given the momentum and traction we are seeing in many segments of our business including cloud, services and emerging technologies."
Source: channelweb
Industry: Unified communication news
Latest Jobs
-
- Public Sector Cyber Security Sales | UK
- England
- N/A
-
Public Sector Cyber Security Sales | UK UK | Remote / Hybrid A cyber security provider is seeking a Public Sector Sales professional to drive growth across UK government and public sector organisations. Must have current Cyber Security sales experience. Responsibilities Generate new business selling cyber security solutions into UK public sector Build relationships with CIO, CISO and senior technology stakeholders Manage the full sales cycle from opportunity to contract close Develop pipeline across central government, local government and public sector bodies Support bids, tenders and framework opportunities Experience Proven cyber security sales experience in the UK Track record selling into public sector organisations Familiarity with CCS, G Cloud or other government frameworks Strong stakeholder engagement and deal management skills Location UK based Security Requirements Eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance
-
- Security Architect | MoD - Security Cleared. OUTSIDE IR35 | Hampshire
- N/A
- Outside IR35
-
Security Architect | MOD | Security Cleared | Outside IR35 | Hampshire Commutable The successful candidate must be willing to undergo DV Clearance, ideally already holding active clearance. You will produce high and low level security architecture documentation, guiding and validating designs for systems deployed within sensitive environments. The role requires providing specialist security input into solution design, service transition and change initiatives, working closely with engineering, operations, client and third party stakeholders. You must have current hands on architectural experience, including VMware secure platform design and virtualisation architecture, alongside AWS expertise. This is an outside IR35 contract- 6 month rolling. Part of a longer term MoD project
-
- Active Directory | RBA engineer | UK Remote | SC Clearable
- United Kingdom
- N/A
-
Technical Active Directory (AD) and RBA specialist needed to play a key part in complex, enterprise scale Active Directory and access transformation programmes. You will work alongside senior team, helping reshape access models, modernise legacy directory structures and strengthen security posture across secure environments. This is hands on delivery within high impact projects where your work directly improves access control, compliance and operational resilience. Active UK Security Clearance required. This is a remote role with client travel. Implementation of Role Based Access Control across large AD estates Restructuring complex permission models, security groups and delegated access Supporting domain controller upgrades and core directory improvements Applying security hardening standards and remediating audit findings Enhancing authentication, policy and access governance frameworks Troubleshooting and resolving technical AD challenges within live environments Producing robust technical documentation and identifying project risks You must have the following technical experience Enterprise Active Directory administration Role Based Access and permission remediation OU design and governance Group Policy management Security group delegation models DNS and DHCP services Kerberos authentication / NTLM PowerShell scripting and automation Azure AD | Entra ID Hybrid identity environments Identity Governance PAM
-
- Identity and Access Management Consultant (Saviynt & Microsoft Entra) | UK
- United Kingdom
- N/A
-
Role summary Technical IAM consultant delivering identity governance and cloud identity solutions to enterprise clients. What you will do Implement / Configure / Deploy Saviynt IGA / Microsoft Entra solutions: Lead technical workshops, gather requirements and translate into solution designs. Troubleshoot complex issues, support testing and deployments. Produce technical artefacts and configuration guides. Key skills Hands-on Saviynt IGA experience (workflow, connectors, access governance). Strong practical knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD identity and access controls. Understanding of identity protocols (SAML, OAuth, OpenID Connect) and hybrid identity. Experience with APIs / REST for integrations and automation. What we are looking for Proven delivery experience in IAM / IGA projects, preferably in consulting. Confident communicator with client-facing delivery exposure.