Dell has signed a deal to acquire data storage company EMC, for $67 billion. With the acquisition, Dell will diversify its portfolio away from the PC market and towards data storage for enterprise users.
There is a 60-day period in which EMC can solicit offers from other companies, and pay a discounted breakup fee to Dell if a deal is made. However, market watchers believe that the chances of this happening are low.
Dell will pay $24.05 per share in cash, and five shareholders a special stock that tracks the share price in VMWare.
Analyst Comment
IHS comments that this deal will provide Dell and EMC with ‘additional reach’ into business opportunities they may have not had access to as individual companies. They will also be better able to compete with rivals such as IBC, HP and Cisco in the growing market for unified IT solutions. (TA)
