...TORONTO (Standard & Poor's) Oct. 20, 2014--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said that Mitel Networks Corp.'s announced proposal to acquire ShoreTel Inc. for approximately US$540 million does not affect our ratings or outlook on Mitel at present. The proposal is consistent with Mitel's long-term strategy to be a consolidator within the business communications market and to expand its cloud-based recurring revenue streams. It is unclear whether the acquisition will proceed as ShoreTel's board has rejected Mitel's proposal. The impact on our ratings on Mitel, if any, will depend on the outcome of the proposal, which we expect will become clear over the next several months. Assuming the acquisition closes as proposed and is financed from balance-sheet cash and debt funding, we estimate total adjusted debt-to-EBITDA at year-end 2014 of below 4x (excluding any possible ShoreTel synergies). From a business standpoint, we believe Mitel could benefit from increased scale and an improved...
