Computer maker Hewlett-Packard has struck quickly in its battle with Dell to buy data storage firm 3PAR, raising its offer to $2 billion two hours after Dell's latest bid.
HP announced it had increased its offer to $30 per share in cash, or a total value of $2 billion, representing an 11% premium above Dell's earlier $27 per share offer.
HP, the world's largest computer maker, said it did not require financing to carry out the deal, which has been approved by its board of directors.
It remained to see if Dell would top HP's bid in what increasingly appears to be a war of prestige between the two giants. Analysts says the companies are struggling to gain an edge with advanced and more complex computer systems as the personal desktop and laptop market nears its peak.
The latest bids cap an intensifying two-week battle between the two computer titans for the big data firm that focuses on so-called 'cloud computing' in which data is stored remotely.
Dell's bid earlier today matched HP's offer from the previous day, which also came hours after Dell had improved its initial offer.
Dell first announced on August 16 it had reached an agreement to acquire 3PAR at $18 per share. HP made a counter bid of $24 per share in cash.
