HP trumps Dell in latest $1.8bn bid for rival 3PAR
THE FIGHT for data storage firm 3PAR accelerated last night as Hewlett Packard upped its bid to $27 a share, valuing the business as $1.8bn (£1.2bn), just hours after 3PAR accepted a $24.30 offer from Dell.
US shares in 3PAR shares rose to $27.90 in extended-hours trading after HP’s announcement, suggesting investors are hoping for a lucrative counter-offer from Dell.
Dell signed an agreement with 3PAR last week, but the deal contained a clause obliging the firm to match any rival bids.
HP’s cash offer outbids Dell by 11 per cent, and represents a 180 per cent premium on the data storage firm’s share price on 13 August, before Dell’s initial approach.
3PAR’s board said yesterday when accepting Dell’s bid that it continued to unanimously recommend the company as the best-placed suitor.