NetApp Weighs Options After EMC’s New Bid for Data Domain

Just one day after heralding the lifting of regulatory hurdles in
its bid to acquire Data Domain, NetApp was forced to face a new,
sobering setback: Rival bidder EMC, deep pockets and all, was not
giving up its own quest.

Storage market leader EMC, flush with its own government green light
to pursue deduplication specialist Data Domain, upped its original
all-cash offer by 11 percent, eclipsing NetApp’s half-cash/half-stock
offer. EMC further sweetened the pie by offering to close the deal
within two weeks and to lift any deal-protection provisions such as a
break-up fee that would bog down the acquisition process.

NetApp on Tuesday issued a terse statement that struck a tone that
if not outright defeated signaled some retreat and reflection.

"In response to EMC’s revised, unsolicited offer, the NetApp Board
of Directors will carefully weigh its options, keeping in mind both its
fiduciary duty to its stockholders and its disciplined acquisition
strategy. We will provide an update shortly," said Dan Warmenhoven,
chairman and CEO of NetApp, in the statement.

A spokesperson for NetApp said it would not elaborate beyond Warmenhoven’s statement.