3par

Under the agreement, Dell will pay Compellent investors $27.75 a share in cash. Problem is those investors had bid up the stock to above $34 in anticipation of a much a better offer. If they ultimately reject Dell's deal, it'll be another black eye for the computing giant.

After Hewlett-Packard outbid Dell for cloud-computing company 3Par in September, Dell has moved on to a new -- and this time, seemingly painless -- acquisition target: Boomi. The company has developed software to more easily move data from the cloud to customers' computers.

Avis Budget has increased its offer for Dollar Thrifty, firing the latest salvo in its bidding war for Dollar with archrival Hertz. It's a familiar pattern in the world of mergers and acquisitions, and the data shows that interlopers like Avis often a better chance of taking home the prize.

Big Blue isn't bullish on Hewlett-Packard. IBM CEO Samuel J. Palmisano launched a verbal barrage Tuesday at its Silicon Valley rival, criticizing HP's expensive 3PAR purchase, its handling of the ouster of scandal-tarnished CEO Mark Hurd, and its overall strategy.

After Hewlett-Packard edged out Dell to acquire 3Par, speculators now wonder if the computer maker could be targeting another data storage company, perhaps Brocade.

The bidding war for 3Par, which specializes in utility storage, now values the company at three times what it was worth before the offers started coming. What is it about 3Par that's so promising? It's all about the "cloud."

After a couple of fairly sleepy years, mergers and acquisition activity has bounced back dramatically, with potential long-term consequences for the stock market. It's a rare ray of hope at a time when other economic indicators are pointing straight toward the floor.

The No. 1 PC maker's shares got a boost Monday after it announced an additional $10 billion for share repurchases.

With the tech M&A market heating up, security software maker ArcSight is putting itself up for sale, according to reports. A sale price could be as high as $1.5 billion.

The bidding war between Dell and Hewlett-Packard over data storage company 3Par has heated up. Hours after Dell matched HP's bid from Thursday, HP raised the stakes again with a $30 per share offer.