Vyyo, a struggling vendor of cable bandwidth-expansion systems, is being offered a buyout deal worth about $45 million by an investment consortium led by the company’s former chairman and CEO, Israeli businessman Davidi Gilo.
Vision Acquisition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilo Ventures II, announced it has made an offer to buy 7,967,781 shares of common stock of Vyyo at 17 cents per share. That represents approximately 54% of the outstanding shares not held by Vision Acquisition or its affiliates as of Sept. 15. The $45 million price tag is inclusive of debt and equity.
The company, based in Norcross, Ga., had very limited success selling its UltraBand spectrum-overlay system, which is supposed to deliver up to 3 GHz in a coaxial cable network. The company last year named Cox Communications as a customer.
In January, Vyyo shut down its research and development operations in Israel and laid off more than 70 employees there.
In a statement, Vyyo said it would use Gilo-backed funding to focus on support efforts for existing customers; pursuing licensing agreements for the UltraBand tap and passive technology; and integrating the spectrum-expansion technology into integrated, single-box node, amplifier, tap and passive product lines.
Vyyo said it expects the company to be continue to be led by chairman Jim Chiddix and CEO Wayne Davis.
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