Hewlett-Packard has launched a $1.6 billion bid for data storage company 3PAR, topping an offer by technology rival Dell.
HP bid $24 a share for 3PAR, about 33% more than Dell planned to pay in a deal announced a week ago. At the time, Dell's bid for 3PAR, which makes storage products that use virtualisation technology to allow companies to boost efficiency, marked an 87% premium to its share price.
HP, faced with turmoil in its top ranks after the resignation of CEO Mark Hurd, said its board had approved the bid.
3PAR was founded in 1999 and recorded revenue of $194m in its last financial year. The competing bids for 3PAR come as technology heavyweights like IBM and Oracle have been boosting investment in cloud computing and virtualisation technology, hoping to take advantage of corporate demand for services that manage the flow of data and information.
Cloud computing is technology that allows users to access data and software over the internet and corporate networks.
Because Dell offered such a steep premium for 3PAR, industry analysts had doubted a competing offer would emerge. The boards of Dell and 3PAR had approved terms of the deal.
HP said 3PAR would be an 'ideal fit', and said its proposed deal would close by the end of the year.
