EMC spends US$213 million acquiring Iomega

Global storage vendor EMC has made a definitive agreement to acquire US-based Iomega in a cash tender offer of US$3.85 per outstanding share, or approximately US$213 million.

The addition of Iomega’s products, brand name, route to market and industry will – according to EMC - widen its reach and focus in the rapidly-growing consumer and small business markets.

EMC intends to commence the tender offer in the next two weeks, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2008, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The acquisition is expected to have no material impact on EMC financial results for the full 2008 fiscal year, said Joe Tucci, EMC chairman, president and CEO.

“Iomega will play a key role in EMC’s strategy to expand our information storage and management capabilities deeper into the high-growth consumer and small business markets. Iomega and EMC represent a powerful combination that ultimately will benefit these customers through the protection, security and simplified management of their rapidly growing information,” he said.

Once the sale is completed, Iomega will serve as the core of EMC’s new “Consumer/Small Business Products Division”.

“The new division (led by Jonathan Huberman and reporting to Joel Schwartz, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMC Storage Platforms) will also include EMC Retrospect and EMC LifeLine software. EMC plans to build the division around the strength of the Iomega organisation, brand, products and partner channel,” he said.

According to Tucci, Iomega adds to the growing list of product offerings EMC is amassing for the consumer and small business markets.

“As long-standing partners, EMC and Iomega will continue to build upon their existing foundation of technology integrations. Since 2004, Iomega has been packaging and selling EMC Retrospect backup software with all its external disk drives,” he said.

In January EMC also announced the new EMC LifeLine software for the consumer, home office and small business markets. Simultaneously, Iomega announced plans to embed EMC LifeLine into its multi-drive network storage products, which are expected this summer with the launch of its next-generation StorCenter Network Hard Drive products.