History 2002: Who Bought Whom in 2001?

We noted 46 mergers and acquisitions in 1998, 51 in 1999, 58 in 2000, and 58 once again for 2001, despite a year that was economically grim.

The highest known transaction this year weighed in at $645 million, what Emulex paid for Giganet, but nevertheless nowhere near the past 4 years’ record of $9.6 billion, which Compaq forked over to acquire Digital Equipment in 1998, although that deal involved more than just storage products.

The 2001 spree awards go to Bell Microproducts and Inrange Technologies, each with 3 acquisitions to its name.

Going back to 1998, EMC, also the wealthiest, heads the list for the most acquisitions overall, with 9 companies, followed by Bell Microproducts, LSI Logic and Veritas Software, each at 6 for the whole period.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 168 on January 2002 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.