EMC Corporation announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire VMware, Inc. in a cash transaction valued at approximately $635 million. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed early in the first quarter of 2004.
The acquisition of VMware will help customers deploy virtualization technologies across their heterogeneous IT infrastructure to create a single pool of available storage and computing resources. This “Virtual Information Infrastructure” will enable organizations to dynamically configure and reconfigure their compute and storage environments. EMC expects to take a charge of approximately $15 to $20 million in the first quarter of 2004 for the value of VMware’s in-process research and development costs and other integration expenses. EMC plans to operate VMware as a software subsidiary of EMC, headquartered in Palo Alto and led by Diane Greene, VMware’s current President and CEO. VMware will remain focused on developing, selling and servicing VMware’s products and solutions. www.vmware.com, www.EMC.com