What? Hewlett-Packard tenders an unsolicited bid Aug. 26 for little ol’ storage maker 3PAR for 262 times its earnings?
Then Dell matches it, 3PAR apparently accepts early on Aug. 27 — then HP comes out with a cool $2 billion offer a few minutes later on Aug. 27.
This is more than a little nuts, it’s totally fruitcake. 3PAR is a good little company, but is it worth $2 billion? Um, no.
This bidding war has evolved far away from the logical. This has become a matter of who is more macho: Dell or HP?
3PAR is beside the point now. This company could be making pretzels and it wouldn’t matter. It’s now strictly a matter of pride. Which IT superpower will get the prize? The words “save face” loom large here.
The company that wins 3PAR will add a nice group of folks with good tech to the product line. But the psychological lift the winner will get for its employees and customers will be more valuable in the long run.
Meanwhile, we sit and watch a great tennis match — better than any at Wimbledon this year.