(Telecompaper) Enterprise communications specialists Mitel Networks and Aastra Technologies have agreed to merge. Mitel will acquire Aastra for USD 6.52 cash plus 3.6 Mitel shares for each Aastra share, valuing Aastra at CAD 392 million. The price of CAD 31.96 per Aastra share is a 20.9 percent premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price of Aastra shares prior to the announcement. The deal creates a company with increased scale, strengthening Mitel's position in the European market and preparing the two companies for the shift to cloud services. The combined company will be headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and will operate under the name Mitel while continuing to leverage Aastra's brand in select European markets. Mitel CEO Richard McBee will lead the group. Aastra' s co-CEOs Francis Shen and Tony Shen will serve as respectively Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and they have already committed their combined 14 percent stake in the company to the takeover bid. Aastra will have the right to appoint three members of the nine-member board. The new company has pro forma sales of USD 1.1 billion per year, and the group expects synergies of USD 45 million per year within two years, driven by supply chain optimization, facilities consolidation and economies of scale.