Storage specialist NetApp will buy de-duplication firm Data Domain for $1.5 billion, the companies announced yesterday.
The cash-and-stock deal values Data Domain at $25 a share.
De-duplication is practice of storing just new files at each backup, a way to speed up backups and reduce the volumes of data being transferred and stored on tape. It has become an increasingly hot area as companies seek to cut the escalating cost of storage and connectivity.
The acquisition gives NetApp the ability to offer a product to companies wanting to minimize their reliance on tape.
NetApp chairman and CEO Dan Warmenhoven said Data Domain offered a “complementary product line suited for multi-vendor environments where customers want to minimize their use of tape for backup.”
NetApp said it would operate Data Domain as a product line within NetApp’s product group.
“We will focus on new customer acquisition and maximum market share expansion,” Warmenhoven said. “Their existing customers should see the benefits of NetApp’s broader scale and support capabilities.”
NetApp yesterday also announced a 17% fall in net income to $75 million for the first quarter. Revenue fell 6% to $880 million.
NetApp’s stock fell 4.04% on Nasdaq yesterday and 1.67% in after hours trade to $17.05.