NetApp to Buy SolidFire -- Update
December 21 2015 - 4:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Beckerman
NetApp has agreed to buy data-storage startup SolidFire Inc. for
$870 million, adding a participant in a sector that has gained
prominence as many businesses turn to flash storage rather than
hard drives.
Well-funded storage startups have been a threat to technology
giants such as NetApp, International Business Machines Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard Co.
"With SolidFire, NetApp will now have all-flash offerings that
address each of the three largest all-flash array market segments,"
NetApp said Monday.
The deal is expected to close during NetApp's fiscal fourth
quarter.
In late 2014, SolidFire raised $82 million in financing from
backers including Greenspring Associates, increasing total funding
to $150 million.
Based in Boulder, Colo., SolidFire was founded in 2010 by Chief
Executive Dave Wright, whose previous company, JungleDisk Inc. was
acquired by Rackspace Inc. Mr. Wright will lead the SolidFire
product line with NetApp.
In May, NetApp said it would lay off about 500 workers, about 4%
of its workforce, as it struggled with the shift to cloud-based
storage and a major product-line overhaul.
Cantor Fitzgerald said in a May downgrade that NetApp faced
"execution/transition issues" and a competitive market. Baird
upgraded NetApp in October.
On June 1, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company said Tom Georgens was
stepping down as chairman and chief executive. George Kurian was
promoted to CEO from executive vice president of product
operations.
In the second quarter ended Oct. 30, NetApp's earnings fell from
a year ago but still came in better than expected, as the company
continued to increase its digital focus.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2015 17:41 ET (22:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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