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NetApp Increased to $1.9 Billion the Price to Acquire Data Domain

War with rival EMC continues...

NetApp has made a revised proposal to acquire Data Domain, Inc. Under the terms of the proposal, NetApp will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Data Domain common stock for $30 per share in cash and stock in a transaction valued at approximately $1.9B, net of Data Domain’s cash, subject to certain adjustments.

Our strategic rationale remains the same and we firmly believe that the combination of our two companies will provide a greater opportunity and risk-adjusted value for Data Domain shareholders, customers, and partners,” said Dan Warmenhoven, chairman and CEO of NetApp. “The complementary nature of the Data Domain and NetApp product lines will result in higher aggregate growth compared to the redundancies that would result with the EMC product line.”

The Data Domain portfolio provides NetApp a complementary offering to expand its reach in the market for heterogeneous disk-based backup. The Data Domain acquisition will increase NetApp’s ability to capitalize on the growth of disk-based backup adoption, a trend accelerated by the economics of deduplication.

NetApp’s offer for Data Domain is also superior to EMC’s previously announced, unsolicited proposal, as it offers a combination of value certainty and the opportunity for Data Domain shareholders to participate in the future success of the combined NetApp and Data Domain entity.

Warmenhoven added: “The cultural compatibility between Data Domain and NetApp will maximize the potential for continued innovation from a creative and motivated employee base. This will not only create a meaningful choice for our customers but also lead to a complementary combination with no obstacles to an expeditious close of the acquisition. Therefore, we are as committed to this partnership now as we were when we first announced our intent to acquire Data Domain.”

NetApp first announced its definitive agreement to acquire Data Domain on May 20, 2009.


Here is the letter written by Steve Gomo, executive VP and CFO of NetApp, to Aneel Bhusri, chairman of Data Domain:

June 2, 2009

Dear Aneel:

On behalf of NetApp, I am pleased to reiterate our continued interest and enthusiasm for a potential combination of Data Domain and NetApp. As you know, we believe that a combination has the potential to create a combined company that is unparalleled in its position to add real value for our customers by solving their storage efficiency needs.

In light of EMC’s recently announced unsolicited proposal to acquire Data Domain, we would like to propose a revised transaction between NetApp and Data Domain which we believe offers Data Domain’s stockholders a superior combination of risk-adjusted value and transaction certainty than EMC’s unsolicited acquisition proposal.

Pursuant to the terms of the attached amendment to our existing Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), we are proposing to revise the Merger Agreement to deliver $30 per share in total value to Data Domain stockholders, consisting of $16.45 per share in cash (before any adjustments described in Sections 2.7(b)(i) and 2.7(b)(ii) of the Merger Agreement) and $13.55 per share in NetApp stock based on NetApp’s closing share price on June 2, 2009 of $19.34. As with the terms of our existing Merger Agreement, our amended Merger Agreement would include a 10% symmetrical collar, centered on a midpoint derived from NetApp’s closing share price of $19.34. Accordingly, the exchange ratio for the stock component of the merger consideration set forth in the amended Merger Agreement would be equal to (i) 0.7783 shares of NetApp common stock if the “Closing Average” (as defined in the Merger Agreement) is less than $17.41, (ii) 0.6370 shares of NetApp common stock if the “Closing Average” is greater than $21.27, and (iii) that fraction of a share of NetApp common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing $13.55 by the “Closing Average”, if the “Closing Average” is (A) less than or equal to $21.27 and (B) greater than or equal to $17.41. In order to maximize deal certainty, NetApp would expect to use cash to settle the low end of the collar. Under the terms of our proposal, all other terms of the amended Merger Agreement would remain unchanged from those set forth in the existing Merger Agreement.

We believe this proposal offers Data Domain stockholders more compelling risk-adjusted value than EMC’s current acquisition proposal for several reasons. First, it offers a combination of value certainty – through the cash and the collar – coupled with the potential for long-term value upside through the ongoing ownership of NetApp stock. Second, the stock portion of the transaction consideration is expected to be tax-free to Data Domain stockholders. And third and potentially most important, we believe that a combination of Data Domain and NetApp offers clearly superior transaction certainty. Unlike a combination of Data Domain and EMC, which has substantial product overlap and which we believe will face significant regulatory challenges, a combination of Data Domain and NetApp has no meaningful regulatory risk.

We look forward to discussing the terms of this proposal in greater detail at your earliest convenience. For your convenience and to express the sincerity of our intent, we have included a signed copy of our proposed amendment to the Merger Agreement. We note, however, that this proposal and the Merger Agreement amendment attached hereto are non-binding and we reserve the right to withdraw this proposal and the Merger Agreement amendment at any time unless and until the signed copy of the Merger Agreement amendment attached hereto is counter-signed by Data Domain and returned to us without any revisions thereto. Any purported revisions to the attached Merger Agreement amendment shall not be accepted by us and shall be considered void, notwithstanding the execution thereof by Data Domain.

Sincerely,

Steven Gomo

 

Comments

As we suggested, we only saw two reasons for EMC to try to get Data Domain: 1/ to avoid one of its main competitor to get an excellent de-dupe product; or 2/ to oblige NetApp to put more dollars on the table to acquire Data Domain.

The second one is happening. And now, what do we suggest? The auction could continue and we are waiting for a new EMC offering, at a key figure: $2 billion. At $1.9 billion, NetApp now offers about the same price as EMC and tries to convince Data Domain shareholders that it will be a better partner  “compared to the redundancies that would result with the EMC product line." But he shareholders are essentially interested by what they will get in their pocket at the end of the war between the two storage giants.

This deal seems to be more and more a fight between the companies and their respective CEO, Dan Warmenhoven and Joe Tucci, quite different personalities. Who will win at the end? We bet EMC, as the storage leader is much bigger and has more cash to offer. We see EMC finally acquiring Data Domain and then NetApp trying to buy Quantum to get the de-dupe technology it desperately needs. But it will be once more another interesting fight as Quantum is currently a main partner of EMC, financially and technologically.

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