John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Will Dell Bail on 3Par?

With its $2 billion bid for storage vendor 3Par last week, Hewlett-Packard began to skirt the line between a rational proposed buyout and an irrational one. At $30 per share, the offer represents a staggering 310 percent premium over 3Par’s stock before the bidding war between Dell and HP began. Accordingly, 3Par’s board over the weekend decided HP’s was the “superior” offer and said it would terminate its $1.8 billion merger agreement with Dell.

Will Dell (DELL), which has the right under its original Aug. 16 agreement to match any competing proposal within three business days, allow that to happen?

Investors who drove 3Par’s (PAR) stock price to $32.91 Monday clearly don’t think it will. But it may have to. After all, HP (HPQ) has the bigger wallet and sources close to the company say it’s willing to dip into it again if Dell should trump its offer before Wednesday. In other words, it’s looking increasingly like Dell can’t win this one, even if it counters HP’s latest.

Dell, for its part, isn’t yet willing to concede defeat, though the company does seem to be staring it in the face.

“We have an existing agreement with 3Par that gives us the right to match any competitive offer,” said a company spokesperson. “We are assessing it at this time. We will make a decision in the best interest of our customers and shareholders and make that known when it becomes appropriate.”

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