Dell raises 3PAR bid to $1.8bn

Dell and HP continue to battle it out in to secure 3PAR

Dell has raised its bid for 3PAR to $1.8bn (£1.16bn) as the bidding war with HP to acquire the storage company rages on.

The 3PAR board had accepted Dell’s offer of $1.6bn (£1.03bn) yesterday, but HP fired back with an offer adding $200m more to its bid.

Dell has again matched its rival's offer, and once more 3PAR is reported to have accepted the Texas firm's bid.

A deal between Dell and 3PAR that valued the latter at $1.15bn (£742m) or $18 (£12) per share was originally announced on 16 August.

The value of 3PAR has skyrocketed in the past week, with Dell now willing to pay $27 (£17.42) per share.

It is unclear whether HP will raise the stakes again in the hope of completing what would be a hostile takeover.

Both companies are eager to get their hands on 3PAR to boost their cloud computing ambitions. The server wing of Dell is particularly keen to get hold of 3PAR technology, according to the firm.