Dell Acquires Compellent Technologies
Dell has completed its acquisition of Compellent Technologies, a rapidly-growing provider of highly-virtualized storage solutions with automated data management features, including tiering and thin provisioning, for enterprise and cloud-computing environments.
Compellent shareholders approved the acquisition at a special shareholder meeting on Frebruary 22, 2011.
The Compellent acquisition is Dell’s latest strategic investment to expand its enterprise storage portfolio which includes EqualLogic and PowerVault. The combination of Compellent technology with current Dell storage solutions significantly advances the Dell strategy to help customers better manage data growth, reduce storage costs and dramatically simplify the management of IT infrastructure.
Compellent Fluid Data technology combines a powerful data movement engine, intelligent software and modular hardware that can help cut costs up to 80 percent. The Fluid Data architecture provides block-level intelligence to automatically place data on the right storage tier to optimize performance and maximize cost savings. Compellent’s open, future-ready design integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling customers to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades. In addition, the Compellent SAN is backed by Copilot Support, which goes beyond traditional support offerings by identifying and resolving problems, often before they happen.
Dell announced plans to leverage Compellent’s channel offerings to create the leading storage program in the industry, through its partners and new initiatives. Dell will combine the best of both companies’ channel deal registration programs, extend this new deal registration program to all partners, and introduce a program in which partners can grow and nurture a customer relationship once they have sold a Dell storage solution.
Dell also announced a dramatically expanded Dell Storage Forum 2011, which will now include Compellent solutions and channel partners. Previously known as the EqualLogic User Conference and Compellent C-Drive, the combined conference will offer keynotes and training on the Dell storage portfolio and will include a channel partner-specific track to provide partners information and resources needed to quickly add new Dell storage solutions to their portfolio.
Under terms of the agreement, Dell paid $27.75 per share in cash for each share of Compellent for a total equity value of approximately $940 million, and aggregate purchase price of approximately $800 million, net of Compellent’s cash. The amounts include the value of Compellent shares currently held by Dell at closing.
