Dell to buy EMC for US$67b in record deal for tech industry

Even as big players downsize to stay nimble, the Dell-EMC entity could be a force to be reckoned with, say observers

Published Tue, Oct 13, 2015 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

THE price tag of US$67 billion that Dell is proposing to pay to buy data storage company EMC Corporation is huge by any standards.

If approved by regulators, this would be the biggest in history between two companies in the technology sector, more than doubling the size of the US$25 billion that Hewlett Packard (HP) paid to acquire Compaq in 2001. The deal also dwarfs the proposed US$37 billion acquisition of Broadcom Corporation by Singapore-headquartered Avago Technologies; this purchase is at an advanced stage and, subject to regulatory approval, will close by the first quarter of next year.

On Tuesday (US time), Dell and EMC signed a definitive agreement under which Dell, with its owners, founder, chairman and CEO Michael Dell, MSD Partners (Mr Dell's investment vehicle) and Silver Lake, a global leader in technology inv…