Dell announced on October 12 that it will acquire EMC2 in the biggest deal ever in the tech world, for a record-breaking $67 Billion. VMware, a publicly-traded subsidiary of EMC2, will remain public under the deal. Dell will finance the deal to buy the company, which is about twice its size, with backing from MSD Partners, controlled by Michael S. Dell, Dell’s CEO, and Silver Lake, a major investor in Dell. So that’s handy.
“The combination of Dell and EMC creates an enterprise solutions powerhouse bringing our customers industry leading innovation across their entire technology environment,” said Michael S. Dell, CEO, Dell. “Our new company will be exceptionally well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next generation IT including digital transformation, software-defined data center, converged infrastructure, hybrid cloud, mobile and security.”
Under the terms of the agreement, EMC shareholders will get $24.05 per share in cash, in addition to some number of shares in VMware. Based on the estimated number of EMC shares outstanding at the close of the transaction, they should get about 0.111 shares of the new VMware stock for each EMC share. All of this is dependent on the prices on the day of the deal, of course. The EMC Board of Directors has approved the agreement and will recommend that stockholders do the same.
This new company will be the world’s largest privately-controlled, integrated technology company, with fingers in servers, storage, virtualization and PCs. It will also position it to be a player in software-defined data centers, cloud architecture, infrastructure, mobile and security, making it a potential IoT MacGuffin, if it plays its card right.
“I’m tremendously proud of everything we’ve built at EMC – from humble beginnings as a Boston-based startup to a global, world-class technology company with an unyielding dedication to our customers,” said Joe Tucci, chairman and CEO, EMC2. “But the waves of change we now see in our industry are unprecedented and, to navigate this change, we must create a new company for a new era. I truly believe that the combination of EMC and Dell will prove to be a winning combination for our customers, employees, partners and shareholders.”
VMware will remain a publicly-traded company and continue to provide customers value through leading software-defined data center technology, together with its cloud, mobile and desktop offerings. This transaction is expected to accelerate VMware’s growth across all of its businesses through significant synergies with Dell’s solutions and go-to-market channels. VMware remains committed to investing in and partnering with its strong, industry ecosystem.
Following completion of the transaction, Dell will lead the combined company as chairman and CEO. Tucci will continue as chairman and CEO of EMC2 until the transaction closes. Dell’s headquarters will remain in Round Rock, Texas, and the headquarters of the combined enterprise systems business will be in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
