Dell to buy 3PAR for $1.5bn
Dell plans to buy data storage company 3PAR for $1.15bn (£730m) in cash, expanding its cloud computing business to compete with other technology services companies like IBM.
Dell said it would pay $18 a share for 3PAR, an 87 per cent premium over Friday’s closing price. The deal would further expand Dell’s presence in technology services, a business that often yields higher profit margins than personal computers but is increasingly competitive.
IBM has been expanding its services business, as have other rivals like Hewlett-Packard and Oracle. They have also been stepping up investment in cloud computing, which enables users to access data and software over the internet without needing to download information.
Dell, which bought technology services company Perot Systems last year for $3.9bn, said 3PAR’s technology would help customers reduce data management costs, including hardware and energy consumption.
Dell will integrate 3PAR’s products into an existing storage portfolio.