Emulex Corp. again urged shareholders Thursday to disregard the latest takeover appeals by Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp., which is seeking to buy the Costa Mesa-based maker of electronics for data storage networks for $764 million.
Emulex Chief Executive Jim McCluney called out Broadcom’s recent presentation to Emulex stockholders as being ?ittered with misleading statements and mischaracterizations meant to distract Emulex stockholders from the core issues.
We urge stockholders to see through Broadcom’s rhetoric and concentrate on what we believe are the facts. “Broadcom’s tender offer is inadequate,” McCluney said in a statement.
McCluney said Broadcom has a self-serving agenda of acquiring Emulex on the cheap, and asked shareholders not to take action.
In a 50-page presentation on Wednesday, Broadcom appealed to Emulex stockholders to give the green light to a special shareholder meeting to discuss the bid to propose changes in Emulex’s bylaws that would allow shareholders to go around the board of directors and even replace board members altogether with ones open to its offer.
Broadcom’s latest effort to reach out to shareholders comes after the two companies have traded barbs in the public eye in recent weeks over a rivalry for customers for a new technology that promises to bring the speed of specialized data networks to everyday networks of servers and desktop computers.
Emulex’s McCluney has been touting the company’s design wins as the main reason for Broadcom’s aggressive move for a buyout.
Broadcom has taken digs at Emulex’s projections for future sales growth for the new technology and pointed out its poor performance in recent quarters.
McCluney cited a recent analyst conference in which Broadcom’s CEO Scott McGregor admitted what Emulex has said all along, that Broadcom cannot compete effectively in converged networking without making an acquisition, he said. Broadcom recognizes that its best option is to buy Emulex, underscoring Emulex’s significant future prospects. *For more on Broadcom’s appeal to Emulex shareholders,
read Wednesday? Business Journal article.
*For more on Emulex’s case against Broadcom,
read Monday? Business Journal article.
