Dell and EMC have signed a definitive agreement under which Dell - together with owners Michael S. Dell, MSD Partners and Silver Lake - will acquire EMC while maintaining VMware as a publicly-traded company.
Under the terms of the agreement, EMC shareholders will receive $24.05 per share in cash in addition to tracking stock linked to a portion of EMC’s economic interest in the VMware business.
Based on share prices as of last week, the deal is worth approximately $67 billion.
The value of the tracking stock may vary from the market price of VMware given the different characteristics and rights of the two stocks.
The EMC board of directors approved the merger agreement and intends to recommend that stockholders of EMC approve the agreement.
The combination of Dell and EMC will create the world’s largest privately-controlled, integrated technology company.
“Our new company will be exceptionally well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next generation IT including digital transformation, software-defined data center, converged infrastructure, hybrid cloud, mobile and security,” said Dell.
“Our investments in R&D and innovation along with our privately-controlled structure will give us unmatched scale, strength and flexibility, deepening our relationships with customers of all sizes,” he added.
VMware will remain a publicly-traded company and continue to provide customers value through leading software- defined data center technology, together with its cloud, mobile and desktop offerings.
This transaction is expected to accelerate VMware’s growth across all of its businesses through significant synergies with Dell’s solutions and go-to-market channels. VMware remains committed to investing in and partnering with its strong, industry ecosystem.