Under Norwegian law, Cisco needs 90 percent of shareholders to back the deal and the one-month tender period stared on October 9, so the clock is ticking. In its release announcing the deal (save for some “customary closing conditions”), the tech giant spoke of how Tandberg’s “network infrastructure solution will be integrated into Cisco’s world-class collaboration architecture” and enable video integration with its desktop products.

But things aren’t going to plan: Rune Selmar, spokesman for institutional investor the Rasmussen Group, tells Dagens IT: “We are a group of shareholders who agree that the bid is too low, and therefore we go along and try to do something about it.”

In a statement (via FT.com) Cisco says: “We are aware of statements made by Tandberg shareholders and as we are currently in the middle of a tender offer process, we are not able to comment. We have stated previously that we believe we are paying a fair price for a quality asset.” The company points out the offer is a 38.3 per cent premium on Tandberg’s closing share price on July 15.