Dell Is Buying Hopkinton-Based EMC in a $67 Billion Deal

EMC facility photo via Shutterstock

In one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the tech industry, computer company Dell will purchase Hopkinton-based data storage provider EMC Corp. in a cash and stock deal valued at about $67 billion, the two companies announced on Monday.

EMC stockholders will receive about $33.15 in a combination of cash and stock linked to EMC’s stake in software subsidiary VMware, which will remain an independent, publicly traded company.

Michael Dell, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell, will serve as the chairman and chief executive of the combined company.

“Our new company will be incredibly well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next generation IT including digital transformation, software-defined data center, converged infrastructure, cloud, mobile, and security,” he said in a statement. “The company will be financially strong. We are bringing together Dell’s strength in small-business and the mid-market with EMC’s strength in large enterprises.”

EMC, founded in 1979 by Northeastern University alumni Richard Egan and Roger Marino, is the largest tech company in Massachusetts.

The record-breaking merger with Dell is being regarded as the largest tech-only deal in history, involving nearly twice as much money as a pending $37 billion merger between Avago Technologies Ltd. and Broadcom Corp and nearly three times as much as Facebook’s $22 billion acquisition of WhatsApp.

The 2000 deal between AOL and Time Warner, valued at $165 billion, remains the largest corporate merger in history.

The deal between Dell and EMC has been approved by EMC’s board of directors, but still needs approval from shareholders.