Lawsuit Has Little Impact on ShoreTel IPO

ShoreTel Inc.s ongoing legal tiff with rival Mitel Networks Corp. doesnt seem to have impacted its initial public offering (IPO). ShoreTel got $86.3 million from its debut July 9 and has since traded at prices between $9.80 and $15.01.

The legal wrangling began just before ShoreTel embarked on its IPO. On June 27, Mitel slapped ShoreTel with a lawsuit that claimed ShoreTel was infringing on four of its patents. ShoreTel postponed its IPO to deal with the allegations and, a month later, hit Mitel with a countersuit. ShoreTel says Mitel, in fact, is infringing on its voice traffic through a firewall patent. ShoreTel says Mitels IP phone systems, including the 3300 IP Communications Platform, are part of the claims.

ShoreTel has asked the courts for $10 million in damages and an injunction against Mitel for making false, misleading statements about ShoreTel in apparent attempts to torpedo ShoreTels IPO. We think it was deliberate, says Steve Timmerman, vice president of marketing for ShoreTel.

The legal wrangling continues at press time.