Elliott matched Polycom with Mitel; Siris outbid them both

In October 2015 Elliott Management disclosed a 6.6% stake in Polycom and a 9.6% stake in Mitel and pushed for the two unified-communications rivals to combine. Under that pressure, Mitel agreed in April 2016 to buy Polycom for about $1.96 billion in cash and stock, worth roughly $13.68 per Polycom share.

Before the deal closed, Siris Capital submitted a superior offer: $12.50 per share in cash, about $2 billion, roughly 14% above the value of Mitel's bid. Polycom's board terminated the Mitel agreement, paid the breakup fee, and accepted Siris.

The acquisition completed in September 2016, with Polycom's stock ceasing to trade on the Nasdaq and the company continuing under Siris ownership with its management team.

Polycom shareholders received $12.50 per share in cash (about $2.0B equity value), replacing a stock-heavy $1.96B Mitel merger.

Elliott's cross-stakes made the merger inevitable — and visible to rival bidders.

A fully cash offer removed deal and share-price risk for Polycom holders.

The termination fee was a cheap price for the better bid.

Siris's operational model promised continuity rather than a messy integration.

An activist who engineers a merger creates an auction: once two bidders exist, the board's duty is to take the superior offer even if it means paying a breakup fee to the matchmaker.

Siris ran Polycom as a private company and later merged it with Plantronics to form Poly in 2019, taking it public again before selling to HP in 2022. Elliott's matchmaking earned a profit on its stakes even though the fund did not control the final buyer.