Network software vendor Tekelec is to be acquired by a private equity group led by Siris Capital for about US$780 million in cash. The deal represents an 11 percent premium over Tekelec’s closing price on Friday night and will see the consortium pay US$11 per share. Apart from Siris, the private equity group includes affiliates of ComVest Group, GSO Capital Partners LP, Sankaty Advisors LLC and ZelnickMedia.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012, and Tekelec is putting on a ‘business as usual’ face. In a statement, it noted that Tekelec’s management team is expected to remain in place, and Merle Gilmore, former President of Motorola’s Communications Enterprise and Chairman of the Board of Airvana Network Solutions, will serve as Tekelec’s Executive Chairman following the closing.

Tekelec is a major play in the Signaling, Policy, and Diameter Routing markets, with a global customer base that includes 16 of the top 20 wireless service providers. It had annual revenue of US$424 million in 2010.