Even without Mark Hurd at the helm as CEO, Hewlett-Packard remains on the prowl for potential acquisitions. The latest example: HP has offered a bid to acquire 3PAR for $1.6 billion, a 33.3 percent premium vs. an offer proposed by Dell last week, notes CNN money. HP Executive VP Dave Donatelli -- a potential candidate for HP's CEO slot -- appears to be driving HP's side of the discussions. Here are the details.

The VAR Guy

August 23, 2010

2 Min Read
HP vs. Dell: Bidding War for 3Par Storage

dell hp 3par bidding war

Even without Mark Hurd at the helm as CEO, Hewlett-Packard remains on the prowl for potential acquisitions. The latest example: HP has offered a bid to acquire 3PAR for $1.6 billion, a 33.3 percent premium vs. an offer proposed by Dell last week, notes CNN money. HP Executive VP Dave Donatelli — a potential candidate for HP’s CEO slot — appears to be driving HP’s side of the discussions. Here are the details.

3Par positions itself as a utility storage company. Dell announced plans to acquire 3Par last week … but perhaps The VAR Guy’s original headline about the deal was a bit premature. That’s because HP disclosed its $1.6 billion rival bid for 3Par today — which is 33 percent higher than Dell’s bid.

HP’s Donatelli offered the following prepared statement:

“HP’s proposal offers superior value to 3PAR’s shareholders. Our global reach, strong routes to market and commitment to innovation uniquely position HP as the ideal fit for 3PAR We’ve seen great momentum with our Converged Infrastructure strategy, and 3PAR accelerates that strategy, particularly in cloud and scale-out markets.”

As you may recall, Donatelli is one of five HP insiders who could emerge as HP’s next CEO, The VAR Guy believes.

Meanwhile, questions about Michael Dell’s leadership at Dell Inc. are starting to emerge. As CNN Money notes:

“A sizeable number of Dell investors showed their disdain for CEO and company founder Michael Dell by withholding their support for him at the company’s recent shareholder meeting. That meeting took place just weeks after the computer maker settled a fraud case with the SEC.”

The VAR Guy will continue to closely watch the HP vs. Dell bidding war for 3Par.

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