Hewlett-Packard submitted a competing $1.6 billion bid Monday for storage-technology vendor 3PAR, which represents a 33.3 percent premium over the acquisition offer submitted by Dell last week. HP’s counterproposal puts the pressure on Dell, which is “not commenting regarding ongoing mergers and acquisition activity,” said Dell spokesperson David Fink.
HP said adding 3PAR’s next-generation storage architecture would help accelerate the converged-infrastructure strategy of the world’s leading computer maker, which provides customers with a large portfolio of intellectual property across storage, server and networking solutions. Moreover, the proposal offers superior value to 3PAR’s shareholders, noted HP Executive Vice President Dave Donatelli.
“Our global reach, strong routes to market, and commitment to innovation uniquely position HP as the ideal fit for 3PAR,” Donatelli said. “We’ve seen great momentum with our converged-infrastructure strategy, and 3PAR accelerates that strategy, particularly in cloud and scale-out markets.”
A Perfect Fit
Dell’s combined commercial server, networking, storage and services revenue grew 43 percent to $4.3 billion in the company’s second business quarter. Dell’s storage business was up 13 percent overall to $624 million, “server revenue was up 35 percent, our EqualLogic line of storage was up 63 percent, and services revenue was up 57 percent,” Fink said.
Dell has been building its storage business through acquisitions over the last several years, with key technologies from EqualLogic, Ocarina Networks, Scalent Networks, and Exanet filling out parts of the market segment that Dell had lacked.
“With the addition of key IT and technology from companies like Ocarina and Exanet, we will continue to enhance our product offerings as we seek to provide customers greater choice and value in storage and data-management solutions,” said Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell’s large-enterprise business unit.
The strategy paid off handsomely in Dell’s latest quarter as the company’s revenue growth from consumer products remained flat. Dell’s proposed acquisition…