EMC eyes ILM market with Documentum acquisition
EMC eyes ILM market with Documentum acquisition
Storage system and services provider EMC is to take steps to enhance its Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) capabilities through the acquisition of content management software provider Documentum.
The pair have signed a definitive agreement for EMC to acquire Documentum in a stock transaction valued at approximately US$1.7 billion.
Joe Tucci, EMC's President and CEO, said, "Much of the information in today's enterprise is unstructured data. Documentum enables organisations to organise and manage their growing volumes of unstructured data by leveraging knowledge about that data. We believe Documentum's rich software development talent, its management strength and depth, its top-notch sales, marketing and services expertise in content management, and its blue-chip customer base will add significant strategic value as EMC continues to evolve."
Documentum and EMC have worked together since the introduction in April last year of EMC's Centera content addressed storage (CAS) solution.
Dave DeWalt, Documentum's President and CEO, said, "As a company we continue to see customers needing enterprise content management expertise, and the need for our products and services is growing and becoming more strategic to our target customers. EMC's significant R&D investments, leadership position in automated networked storage solutions, global distribution and service capabilities, and overall financial strength will provide the scale and resources for Documentum to attain our market potential. As a result, the combination of Documentum and EMC represents an outstanding opportunity for our stockholders, employees, customers and partners."
Under terms of the agreement, Documentum stockholders will receive 2.175 shares of EMC common stock for each share of Documentum common stock. Based upon the EMC closing stock price of US$14.45 on October 13, 2003, the transaction is valued at approximately US$1.7 billion, excluding net cash in the business. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including Documentum's stockholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of calendar year 2004.
Upon completion of the acquisition, EMC intends to operate Documentum as a software division of EMC headquartered in Pleasanton, California, led by Dave DeWalt, Documentum's current CEO. Documentum's sales, marketing and services will remain focused on selling and servicing Documentum's products and solutions.
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