ARN

Exabyte gets gobbled up

Tape storage systems maker Exabyte announced Wednesday that it is being purchased by professional storage vendor Tandberg Data for approximately US$28 million.

Exabyte, founded in 1987 and one of the last remaining independent tape library manufacturers, had put itself up for sale exactly two months ago.

The acquisition by Tandberg, a U.S.-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Tandberg Data, in Norway, is scheduled to close the deal pending approval of Exabyte common shareholders in October or November, Exabyte said. Exabyte said it intends to liquidate and dissolve immediately after the closing of the transaction.

All Exabyte employees will be offered positions with Tandberg, and it is expected that Exabyte management will continue as well, Exabyte said.

Exabyte's end is indicative of how the tape market is headed right now, said Robert Amatruda, an analyst with IDC. A number of the other companies in the tape marketplace have either been purchased or are in partnerships with larger companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, IBM and EMC. Smaller tape manufacturers have difficulty gaining access to the market and to customers, Amatruda said.

Amatruda said the merger with Tandberg is more positive than if Exabyte filed Chapter 11, adding that Tandberg is likely looking at the deal to give it a U.S. distribution channel, he said.

Tandberg said it is financing the deal with a US$35 million loan.

Come socialise with us! Facebook | LinkedIn

More about: Dell, EMC, Exabyte, Hewlett Packard, IBM, IDC, TANDBERG, Tandberg Data

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
ACA Pacific , Alloys , ASI Solutions , Australasian PC Distributors (APCD) , Australian IT Spares , Avnet Technology Solutions , Banksia Software , Datastor , Express Online , Impact Systems Technology , Ingram Micro Australia , Leading Pacific Australia , MPA Systems , Multimedia Technology , POS POS , Synnex Australia , T Data , Westan , Westcon Group
ARN Directory | Vendors relevant to this article
EMC
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2011-06-20_391_wireless-vc-mobility
Transition Systems Australia

Wireless VC mobility

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.