Monday December 04 12:00 PM EST
Sun snags storage company, software maker
By Melanie Austria Farmer, CNET News.com
In a holiday-season buying spree, Sun Microsystems has not one, but two companies coming across its horizon.
Sun, based in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday announced its acquisition of data storage company HighGround Systems in a stock deal worth roughly $400 million and its purchase of software maker GrapeVine Technologies for an undisclosed amount.
Aiming to expand its reach in storage management, Sun intends to fold HighGround's set of data storage management products into its network storage group. Privately held HighGround, based in Marlborough, Mass., provides software that handles storage monitoring, analysis, reporting and event management.
The move is part of Sun's efforts to push widespread use of its storage products. The company last quarter reported 50 percent revenue growth for its storage products, fueled by the debut of its T3 "Purple" network-attached storage server. Still, some financial analysts at the time said customers were viewing the T3 warily and that Sun needed to crack the high-end enterprise market for storage.
Under the terms of the deal, Sun said it will purchase HighGround in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $400 million. The agreement is expected to close in Sun's third quarter, ending March 30, 2001, and is subject to governmental approvals, HighGround stockholder approval and customary closing conditions. |
