US PC maker Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) has struck a $2.4bn (€1.9bn) definitive deal to acquire IT management software company Quest Software Inc (NASDAQ:QSFT), thus beating the latter’s other suitors Insight Venture Partners and Vector Capital.
The takeover will bring critical components that will bolster Dell’s software capabilities in systems management, security, data protection and workspace management, the buyer said today. The software products offered by Quest are complementary to Dell’s scalable design approach, it added.
In March this year, Insight agreed to acquire Quest for $2bn, or $23.00 per share in cash. However, in mid-June the target company announced it had received a cash bid of $25.50 per share from a third party. The name of the suitor was not unveiled, but according to sources quoted by Reuters, the new bidder was indeed Dell. Still, Insight did not abandon its deal and teamed up with Vector Capital to offer $25.75 a share, just to see the unnamed suitor make a new proposal of $27.50 apiece. Quest then said its board had determined this offer to be superior.
As part of the fresh deal, Dell will pay $28.00 per share in cash, net of Quest cash and debt. The transaction is awaiting stockholder clearance and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of the year.
California-based Quest Software serves over 100,000 clients on a global basis, including 87% of the Fortune 500 companies. It has some 3,850 employees that work from 60 offices in 23 countries. Last year, it generated global revenues of $857m.
