(Bloomberg) -- Viavi Solutions Inc. said that its offer for Spirent Communications Plc represents “certain value” after the UK telecom network testing company received a rival bid from Keysight Technologies on Thursday.

“Viavi believes that its acquisition represents certain value and notes its limited business overlap with Spirent relative to Keysight,” the Arizona-based company said in a statement. “Viavi believes that the proposed combination of Keysight and Spirent would further entrench Keysight’s leading position in many product segments, which would limit customer choice.”

Shares of Spirent surged on Thursday after Keysight offered to buy the company for 201.5 pence per share, a price which includes a 2.5 pence special dividend, and values Spirent’s equity at £1.16 billion ($1.5 billion). The Spirent board withdrew its recommendation of the earlier Viavi bid, which valued the company at £1 billion.

Spirent is the latest UK-listed company to become part a bidding war by foreign suitors, as the UK’s struggling capital markets and weaker pound combine to make British companies attractive acquisition targets.

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