By Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — Computer maker Dell Inc. announced Monday it is buying Quest Software Inc., ending a bidding war that has gone on for more than a month.
Texas-based Dell will pay $28 per share, totaling about $2.4 billion, for the Aliso Viejo, Calif., company, a bid to bolster its software business as demand for PCs shrinks.
The acquisition of Quest, which makes software for businesses and governments, comes after a series of competing bids, starting when Quest agreed to be acquired by Insight Venture Partners for $23 a share in early March.
Insight and Vector Capital agreed to put up $25.75 per share in mid-June, but a “mystery bidder” followed with $27.50. The unknown bidder was rumored to be Dell.
“The addition of Quest will enable Dell to deliver more competitive server, storage, networking and end user computing solutions and services to customers,” said John Swainson, president of Dell Software Group, in a news release.
Quest, which has 3,850 employees, posted net income of $52 million and revenue of $857 million last year.