Dell to Buy Storage Solution Company 3Par

Dell (DELL) said Monday it has agreed to buy storage technology firm 3Par (PAR) . Dell will pay $18 a share in cash, an 85% premium over 3Par's closing price of $9.65 a share on Friday. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.15 billion, net of 3Par's cash.

The Fremont, Calif. company provides highly-virtualized storage solutions with advanced data management features, including dynamic tiering and thin provisioning, for multi-tenant cloud-computing environments.

"3PAR has consistently provided customers with the ability to do more with less," said President and CEO of 3Par David Scott in a statement. "With Dell we combine a powerful, virtualized storage platform with an outstanding distribution network to deliver this value to an even broader set of customers."

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed before the end of the year. The boards of both companies have approved the deal.

Based on current estimates, Dell expects the transaction to add to non-GAAP earnings in its Fiscal Year 2012.