Dell announces $67 billion EMC purchase in largest tech merger ever

On Monday, Dell is announcing that it will acquire EMC, a storage technology firm headquartered in Massachusetts, in the largest-ever tech merger, according to several media reports.

A source told Bloomberg that Dell plans to pay slightly more than $25 a share in cash, in addition to tracking stock for EMC's majority stake in VMware, worth about $8 for each EMC share. Negotiations were still underway late Sunday, and sources told Reuters that EMC is asking for a provision that will allow it to solicit bids from other companies and pay a smaller fee to Dell if it goes with a different party. EMC has a market capitalization of $53.6 billion, and The New York Times values the deal to buy it at about $65 billion. The merger was negotiated directly between Dell CEO Michael Dell and EMC chief executive Joe Tucci, according to Re/Code.

Update: Dell and EMC confirmed the deal on Monday morning, putting the purchase price at $33.15 a share, or about $67 billion. "The combination of Dell and EMC creates an enterprise solutions powerhouse," said Dell, who will head the combined company as chairman and CEO. If the merger is completed, Dell will be the No. 3 enterprise technology company by annual revenue, after Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

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