BroadCom Makes $764M Bid for Emulex

The looming shift to a converged data center continues to drive merger activity. Broadcom (BRCM) today launched a hostile $764 million takeover bid for Emulex (ELX), which is among the companies with network adapters for unified network fabrics using Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), the emerging protocol to connect Ethernet LANs and Fibre Channel storage networks. Broadcom made overtures to the Emulex board, which responded by adopting a "poison pill" takeover defense.

Broadcom is undeterred, and its $9.25 a share bid is a 40 percent premium to the Monday close for Emulex. "Broadcom believes that its leadership in Ethernet networking, together with Emulex's deep expertise in Fibre Channel storage networking, will enable the combined company to accelerate the development of converged solutions for enterprise networks," the company said in a statement.

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