(Source: Associated Press/AP Online)
NEW YORK - Firing the latest salvo in a bidding brawl, data storage company EMC Corp. boosted its offer for Data Domain which has already accepted a lower bid from NetApp Inc.
EMC's new offer of $33.50 a share in cash, announced Monday, is $3.50 per share above its previous offer and values Data Domain Inc. at $2.1 billion.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Data Domain has already accepted a sweetened bid of $30 a share in cash and stock from NetApp.
Data Domain makes products that cut down on the amount of storage that customers need to buy from storage companies like EMC and NetApp.
NetApp, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., originally offered to buy Data Domain on May 20 for $25 a share in cash and stock, or $1.5 billion.
EMC then offered to pay $30 per share, or $1.9 billion, in an all-cash deal; NetApp matched that price in a cash-and-stock offer and Data Domain agreed to NetApp's new bid.
EMC's latest offer comes on the same day NetApp said it received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the acquisition. The company also has cleared Federal Trade Commission hurdles.
In announcing its revised bid on Monday, Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC said the FTC had granted early clearance for the deal.
Data Domain shares rose 93 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $34.14, while EMC shares rose 10 cents to $12.88. Shares of NetApp fell 3 cents to $18.94.
Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC also said the Federal Trade Commission granted early clearance for the deal.
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