Dell shells out $1.15 billion for 3PAR

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 16 Aug 2010 at 17:43

Dell plans to buy data storage company 3PAR for $1.15 billion in cash, expanding its cloud computing business to compete with other technology services companies such as IBM.

Dell said it would pay $18 a share for 3PAR, an 87% premium over Friday's closing price.

Dell, which bought technology services company Perot Systems last year for $3.9 billion, said 3PAR's virtualisation technology would help customers reduce data management costs, including hardware and energy consumption.

Dell will integrate 3PAR's products into an existing storage portfolio that also includes offerings from its joint partnership with EMC and services by EqualLogic, a storage company it bought for $1.4 billion.

Dell executives said on a call that they would continue to offer EMC products, allowing customers to choose between those and 3PAR offerings. They also said they would try to further expand Dell's presence in areas like storage and data management.

The 3PAR deal is expected to close by the end of the year.