Oct 18 (Reuters) - EMC Corp (NYSE:EMC), the world's biggest maker of corporate data storage equipment, is in exclusive talks to buy computer storage company Isilon Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ISLN) for more than $2 billion, the New York Post reported on Monday.
The report quoted an unnamed source as saying the deal would be done this year.
Spokesmen for both EMC and Isilon declined to comment.
Isilon has been seen as a takeover target since a bidding war between Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE:HPQ) and Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) over data storage company 3PAR Inc. HP won that battle in September, and analysts had said Dell and others could shift their attention to other storage companies.
Bloomberg previously reported that Isilon was seeking bidders for a possible sale, and had hired Qatalyst Partners, run by technology banker Frank Quattrone.
Shares of Isilon were up 2.2 percent to $28.34 in early afternoon trade, while EMC shares were down 2.3 percent to $20.62. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
