6:21 AM
Dell raises bid for 3PAR, trumping HP
Addison Ray
NEW YORK | Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:46am EDT
NEW YORK Reuters - Dell Inc raised its bid for data storage firm 3PAR Inc on Thursday, offering $24.30 a share and jumping over a bid by Hewlett-Packard Co.
Dell, in a statement, said 3PARs board had accepted its increased offer, which is 30 cents a share above HPs bid. Dells latest proposal values 3PAR at $1.6 billion.
Dell previously bid $18 a share for 3PAR.
The pursuit of 3PAR comes as HP and Dell, as well as other large technology vendors such as International Business Machines Corp and Cisco Systems Inc, vie to sell a wider array of products and services and invest in new technology.
3PAR specializes in high-end data storage, a key part of "cloud computing" -- an increasingly popular technology that enables computer users to access data and software over the Internet, allowing companies to save costs.
Bidding wars are rare in the tightly knit technology sector, where deals are often made behind closed doors.
In the last notable bidding war in the tech industry, EMC outbid NetApp last year to buy Data Domain for $2.4 billion. Data Domain was advised in that deal by Frank Quattrone, the same veteran technology banker who is advising 3PAR in the latest negotiations.
Reporting by Paul Thomasch; editing by John Wallace
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