Dell Inc. said Thursday that data storage maker 3Par Inc. has accepted its raised buyout bid of $1.52 billion, after the computer maker topped an offer from rival Hewlett-Packard Co.
HP and Dell, among the world's largest personal computer makers, are looking at 3Par as a way to build up their "cloud computing" businesses, delivering software, data storage and other services to customers over the Internet. The companies want 3Par to help keep data storage costs down because the company has technology that doles out storage space on the fly.
Dell's new offer is $24.30 a share in cash, up from its $18-per-share offer, or about $1.13 billion, on Aug. 16.
Rival HP countered with an offer of about $1.5 billion on Monday, or about $24 per share.
Dell, which is based in Round Rock, Texas, said it expects the deal to add to earnings by fiscal 2012.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to government approvals and other closing conditions.
In pre-market trading, shares in 3Par fell 29 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $26.47. Dell shares rose 17 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $11.95, and HP shares gained 24 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $38.48.
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