EMC has made a counter offer for Data Domain which is 20%
higher than the $1.5bn bid tabled by NetApp last month.
Despite having a comparable deduplication portfolio, EMC's
$1.8bn all-cash proposal launched late last night is bound to
shake-up senior management at NetApp, who were bullish that their
takeover would close mid-August.
The rival offer would provide Data Domain shareholders with
"greater value and certainty", said EMC, and it was not subject to
financing or due diligence contingency, as the vendor has reserve
in the bank to fund it.
"Our substantially superior offer is a win-win for both
companies," said EMC CEO Joe Tucci, who added that the acquisition
would bolster its next-generation disc-based back-up and archive
portfolio.
In late 2006, EMC acquired Avamar for around $165m, which makes
up part of its deduplication strategy alongside OEM products from
Quantum.
Tucci pointed out the deal will result "in a business larger
than a billion dollars for EMC is 2010".
However, on top of a strong product portfolio, EMC could benefit
from the addition of a management team that has executed well, said
Eric Sheppard, programme director for European storage research at
IDC.
"The idea that EMC would bid for a company with a comparable
product offering means that it is also looking at Data Domain's
management team," he said.