Dell-EMC's $67 billion deal to be biggest in technology

By Jamie Hinks

Dell and EMC are ready to sign off on the biggest technology deal ever that would see the former gobble up the data storage firm for a whopping $67 billion (around £43 billion, AU$91 billion).

The transaction, which is yet to be approved by regulators, values EMC shares at $33.15 (around £21.58, AU$45.04) a piece and by closing the deal it gives Dell access to EMC's prize package in the shape of VMware thus significantly boosting its enterprise hand.

"Our new company will be exceptionally well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next-generation IT," said Dell CEO Michael Dell in a pre-prepared statement.

Dell will lead the global technology firm going forwards and the final price is dependant on how high a value is put on the shares in VMware, which will remain an independently listed entity as part of the deal.

The future of EMC has been a hot topic over the past 12 months with rumours that everyone from HP to its own subsidiary VMware were looking at it with acquisitive eyes. In the same timeframe it has also been looking to make savings totalling around $850 million (around £553 million, AU$1,155) by the end of 2017 and this takeover will certainly go someway to addressing that.

Dell the enterprise player

From Dell's side of the deal, it gets a significant player on the enterprise side of things after a number of years spent struggling against competition from the likes of HP and Lenovo and the two companies combined plus VMware will prove a strong play in that space.

Assuming that all regulatory approvals go through we can expect the deal to close at some point between May and October 2016.